Montana, Joseph C. Jr.
Football
b. June 11, 1956, Monongahela, PA
Considered by many the greatest professional quarterback of all, Montana had a strange career at Notre Dame. Not always a starter, he won acclaim for his ability to come off the bench and rally the team to victory, most notably in the 1979 Cotton Bowl, when he brought Notre Dame back from a 23-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 35-34.
A third-round choice of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1979 NFL college draft, Montana took over as the starter in his second season and led the league in completion percentage with 64.5. The following year, he helped lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl and was its most valuable player, completing 14 of 22 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a touchdown in San Francisco's 26-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
In Super Bowl XIX, after the 1984 season, Montana was again MVP. He completed 24 of 35 passes for 331 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran 5 times for 59 yards and another touchdown as the 49ers overwhelmed the Miami Dolphins 38-16.
The 49ers also won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV, after the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Montana was MVP in the latter game, when he completed 22 of 29 pass attempts for 297 yards and 5 touchdowns. He is the only player to be named Super Bowl MVP three times, and he was one of only five to play on all four San Francisco champions.
A very mobile quarterback with an uncanny ability to complete passes while on the run, Montana didn't often put up really big numbers because the 49ers complemented their passing with a strong running attack. However, he led the NFL in completion percentage five times, with a high of 70.2 percent in 1989. He was also the leader in touchdown passes with 17 in 1982 and 31 in 1987; in yards per attempt with 9.12 in 1989; and in quarterback rating with 102.1 in 1987 and a record 112.4 in 1989.
Montana was named the NFL player of the year by The Sporting News in 1989 and he was the Associated Press athlete of the year in 1989 and 1990. He was selected for 7 Pro Bowls.
An elbow injury sidelined him for the entire 1991 season and most of the 1992 season, when he returned for just one game. He was traded with defensive back David Whitmore to the Kansas City Chiefs for two draft choices in April of 1993.
In his first season in Kansas City, the Chiefs made it to the AFC championship game. They made the playoffs again in 1994 but lost in the first round and Montana announced his retirement.
Montana was the fifth quarterback to pass for more than 40,000 yards. He ranks seventh all-time in passing yardage and touchdown passes thrown and third in career quarterback rating.