Athletes - Joe Montana

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	Athletes - Joe Montana

Joseph Clifford Montana, Jr. (born June 11, 1956 in New Eagle, Pennsylvania) is widely considered one of the best American football quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League. He is of Italian descent. He led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowls (1981 season, 1984 season, 1988 season, 1989 season) and became the only player to win three Super Bowl MVP awards. He was also the first player in league history to win two Associated Press MVP awards, as he did so for the 1989 and 1990 season. In 1990, he received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

Pro football career

San Francisco 49ers

Montana was drafted in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers in 1979 from Notre Dame. He was selected after leading Notre Dame team to defeat the Houston Cougars in the 1979 Cotton Bowl. This came after Montana leading the Irish to a 1977 national championship finished by a victory over the Texas Longhorns in the 1978 Cotton Bowl. Injured after getting hit by Leonard Marshall during the NFC Championship Game in January 1991, Montana missed all of the 1991 season and most of the 1992 season with an elbow injury (he did appear in a Monday Night Football game vs. Detroit Lions at the end of the '92 season and was very effective). However, at this point teammate Steve Young replaced him at the starting quarterback position.

Kansas City Chiefs

Montana was then traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in April 1993 and spent his two final seasons with the Chiefs before retiring at the end of the 1994 season. As a Chief, Montana led two come-from-behind wins in the 1993 playoffs and reached the AFC Championship Game where Kansas City lost to the Buffalo Bills. In 1994, Montana's highlight's included a classic duel with John Elway on Monday Night Football and a final playoff appearance.

NFL records and accomplishments

Montana earned the nicknames "Joe Cool" and "Comeback Kid" due to his ability to rally his teams from late game deficits, including 31 fourth quarter comebacks. "The Catch" (the game-winning TD pass vs. Dallas in the '82 NFC Championship Game) and "The Drive" (the Super Bowl-winning 92-yd. drive vs. the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII) are staples of NFL highlight films.

For his career with the 49ers, Montana completed 2,929 of 4,600 passes for 35,142 yards and 244 touchdowns. He had thirty-five 300 yard passing games. His career totals: 3409 completion on 5391 attempts, 273 touchdowns, 40,551 yards. His career passer rating was 92.3, 3rd highest of all-time, behind Kurt Warner (still active) and successor Steve Young. He also rushed for 1676 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Montana holds post-season records for most career touchdown passes (44), and passing yards (5772) among others. In his four Super Bowls, Montana completed 83 of 122 passes, for 1,142 yards and 11 touchdowns with an impressive zero interceptions, earning him a quarterback rating of 127.8. Montana lead his team to victory in each game, and is the only player ever to win 3 Super Bowl MVP awards. He played in eight Pro Bowls. His success is a combination of Bill Walsh's highly successful West Coast Offense, a team of superstars, pro-bowlers and future stars, and Montana's uncanny ability to find the open man (often the third or fourth option).

Statistics

Career

5,391 passes attempted
3,409 passes completed
40,551 passing yards
273 passing touchdowns
139 passes intercepted
38.7 passing attempts per interception

Post-season records and statistics

16-7 record in the postseason
732 passes attempted
463 passes completed
5,772 passing yards (250.9 ypg)
44 passing touchdowns
21 passes intercepted
34.8 passing attempts per interception in the post-season
8 Pro Bowls
3 Super Bowl MVP awards
4 Super Bowl victories
Zero career interceptions thrown during Super Bowl appearances

Post-NFL life

Critics have largely slighted his comedy appearances, e.g. Saturday Night Live with guest Walter Payton. However his 3½ minute piece on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1996, which had homoerotic undertones and ended with the two men shoving a crab down their pants on stage, has been praised as inspired.

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