50 Fun Facts About Joe Montana

With which team did Montana win four Super Bowls?

He started and won all four, with no interceptions in 122 Super Bowl attempts.

Which nickname did Montana earn for staying calm at key moments?

He was also "the Comeback Kid" and, to teammates, "Bird Legs".

In which season did Montana's Notre Dame team win the national championship?

It was the only title Dan Devine won as head coach; Montana began that year third on the depth chart.

In which round of the 1979 NFL draft was Montana selected?

He was the 82nd overall pick and the fourth quarterback taken.

Who caught "The Catch" from Montana in the 1981 NFC Championship Game?

The leaping grab at the back of the end zone beat Dallas 28-27 and sent the 49ers to Super Bowl XVI.

Which team did Montana beat in both Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XXIII?

The second meeting ended with the 92-yard drive and a touchdown to John Taylor with 34 seconds left.

Who caught the winning touchdown ending Montana's 92-yard drive in Super Bowl XXIII?

Montana went 8 of 9 on the drive, which began at his own 8-yard line with 3:20 left.

How many Super Bowl MVP awards did Montana win?

He was the first player to win it three times, for Super Bowls XVI, XIX and XXIV.

What was the final score of Super Bowl XXIV, the most lopsided in history?

Montana threw a then-record five touchdown passes against Denver.

Which team did Montana join when he was traded away from San Francisco in 1993?

He had vetoed a deal with the Cardinals, who offered the fourth overall pick.

What jersey number did Montana wear in Kansas City?

Len Dawson offered his retired 16 and Jan Stenerud his retired 3, but Montana chose his youth-football number.

In which Pennsylvania coal-mining town did Montana grow up?

He was born in nearby New Eagle, about 25 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Which school offered Montana a basketball scholarship out of high school?

Basketball was his favourite sport; he led Ringgold to a 1973 WPIAL title.

Which Notre Dame coach said Montana was "the guy who's going to feed our family"?

His wife had just asked, "Who's Joe Montana?"

Montana's 1979 Cotton Bowl comeback against Houston is remembered by what name?

His temperature dropped to 96 degrees; he ate chicken soup at halftime and led three late touchdowns.

Which No. 1 team did Notre Dame beat 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl to clinch the 1977 title?

Montana had started the season third on the depth chart.

What mark out of nine did Montana receive for arm strength at a 1979 scouting combine?

Washington State's Jack Thompson rated an eight and went first among quarterbacks.

Which starter did Montana back up for most of his rookie season in 1979?

Montana threw only 23 passes that year and took over midway through 1980.

Montana's first NFL fourth-quarter comeback, from 35-7 down, came against whom in 1980?

He finished his career with 31 such comebacks, 26 of them as a 49er.

How many fourth-quarter comeback wins did Montana record in his NFL career?

Twenty-six came with San Francisco and five with Kansas City.

How many straight 300-yard passing games did Montana have in 1982, then a record?

The 49ers went 3-6 in the nine-game season and missed the playoffs.

In 1983 the 49ers considered trading Montana for the right to draft which quarterback?

They reconsidered and traded their first-round pick to San Diego instead.

The 1984 49ers were the first team to finish a regular season with how many wins?

The 1972 Dolphins had gone unbeaten, but in a 14-game season.

Which quarterback did Montana outduel in Super Bowl XIX with a record 331 yards?

Bill Walsh called him "maybe the greatest quarterback of all time" afterwards.

What injury in week one of 1986 led doctors to suggest Montana retire?

He returned eight weeks later and shared the Comeback Player of the Year award with Tommy Kramer.

How many consecutive passes did Montana complete in 1987 to set an NFL record?

He also threw a career-high 31 touchdowns that year in just 13 games.

Which quarterback did Bill Walsh trade for in 1987, sparking a years-long controversy?

Young came from Tampa Bay and eventually replaced Montana after his 1991-92 injuries.

How many fourth-quarter touchdown passes did Montana throw at Philadelphia in 1989?

He finished with 428 yards and five touchdowns in that comeback.

Montana threw a career-best 476 yards and six touchdowns in 1990 against which team?

Five of the six scores went to Jerry Rice.

Which Giants defender's sack knocked Montana out of the 1990 NFC Championship Game?

The Giants won 15-13 on five field goals, ending the 49ers' three-peat bid.

Montana missed all of 1991 and most of 1992 with an injury to which body part?

He returned for one half of a Monday night game against Detroit, his last snaps as a 49er.

Which Hall of Fame Chiefs quarterback offered Montana his retired No. 16?

Kicker Jan Stenerud also offered the retired No. 3 Montana had worn at Notre Dame.

Which star running back signed with Kansas City shortly after the Montana trade?

Both were former Super Bowl MVPs, and the pairing electrified Arrowhead.

Which team beat Montana's Chiefs in the 1993 AFC Championship Game?

Montana suffered a concussion in the third quarter and gave way to Dave Krieg.

Where did Montana announce his retirement in April 1995?

Bill Walsh emceed and John Madden spoke at the televised event.

What is the name of the venture capital firm Montana co-founded in 2015?

He still manages it.

Teammates called Montana "Bird Legs" for what reason?

He was also "Golden Joe" thanks to a poster in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.

A newspaper contest gave Montana what "real name", which he stencilled on his locker?

The contest's actual winner was "Big Sky"; the entrant argued Joe Montana already sounded like a nickname.

Montana's family surname is an Americanised form of which Italian name?

It comes from the Camonica Valley in northern Italy.

Under what label does Montana produce wine?

He lives in San Francisco's Marina District and also owns horses.

Montana met his wife Jennifer while filming a commercial for which brand?

They married in 1985 and have four children.

Which quarterback was Montana's boyhood idol, helping steer him to Notre Dame?

Hanratty had starred for the Irish in the 1960s.

In 1975, Montana played just 62 seconds of game time to beat which team 21-14?

Athletic director Moose Krause called it the greatest comeback he had ever seen, until the next week.

Which quarterback's career-ending injury against Purdue finally got Montana into a game?

Montana was third string behind Lisch and Forystek to start the 1977 season.

What did Montana's father do so his eight-year-old son could play youth football?

Montana Sr. also started the local basketball team his son played on.

In what year was Montana inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

The 49ers had retired his No. 16 in December 1997.

What is Montana's career Super Bowl passer rating, a record?

He completed 83 of 122 passes for 11 touchdowns and no interceptions across four games.

Which former 49ers teammate ranked first, with Montana fourth, on NFL Network's Top 100?

Montana was the highest-ranked quarterback on the list.

Montana's 2022 documentary miniseries was titled Joe Montana: what?

He also appears as "Joe Clifford" in NFL Network's Joe's Diner spots.

With which idol was Montana one of only two QBs to win a college title and a Super Bowl?

Montana was one day older than Namath had been when he started his first Super Bowl.