Background and career
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", Montana is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. After winning a national championship with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Montana began his NFL career in 1979 at San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. With the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player to be named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He also holds Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception (122 in four games) and the all-time highest passer rating of 127.8. In 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for his last two seasons and led the franchise to its first AFC Championship Game. Montana was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1986, Montana won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award after suffering a severe back injury during week one. In 1989 and again in 1990, Montana was named the NFL Most Valuable Player. Montana was elected to eight Pro Bowls as well as being voted first-team All-Pro in 1987, 1989, and 1990. Montana had the highest passer rating in the National Football Conference (NFC) five times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989), and in both 1987 and 1989, Montana had the highest passer rating in the NFL. Among his career highlights, "the Catch" (the game-winning touchdown pass to Dwight Clark vs. Dallas in the 1981 NFC Championship Game) and a Super Bowl-winning 92-yard drive against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII are staples of NFL highlight films. The 49ers retired Montana's No. 16 jersey number after the conclusion of his playing career. In 1994, Montana earned a spot on the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team; he is also a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Montana third on their list of Football's 100 Greatest Players. Also in 1999, ESPN named Montana the 25th greatest athlete of the 20th century. In 2006, Sports Illustrated rated him the number-one clutch quarterback of all time. After his football career, Montana became a venture capitalist through his firm, Liquid 2 Ventures.
Montana was born in New Eagle, Pennsylvania, a borough of Washington County located in the western portion of the state. He grew up in the city of Monongahela, a coal mining town 25 miles (40 km) south of Pittsburgh. Montana's family were Italian-American, the name Montana being an Americanized form of the surname Montani, which comes from Camonica Valley in northern Italy.
Montana expressed an early interest in sports, and his father first taught him the game of football. Montana started to play youth football when he was eight years old, aided in part by his father. Montana Sr. listed his son as a nine-year-old so that Montana could meet the league's minimum age requirement. During his formative years, Montana took an interest in baseball and basketball, in addition to football, with basketball being his favorite sport. Montana Sr. started a local basketball team which his son played on. The team practiced and played at the local armory and played their games in various regional tournaments. Montana received his primary education at Waverly Elementary and his secondary education at Finleyville Junior High (now known as Finleyville Middle School) and Ringgold High School. While at Ringgold, Montana played football, baseball, and basketball. Montana showed potential as a basketball player and helped Ringgold win the 1973 WPIAL Class AAA boys' basketball championship while being named an all-state player. He was so good during his senior year, North Carolina State offered Montana a basketball scholarship. Although Montana turned down the scholarship, he seriously considered NCSU because of a promise he could play both basketball and football for the university. Montana spent his first two years on the high school football team as a backup. As a junior, Montana earned the job as the Ringgold Rams' starting quarterback. Montana held the role for the final two years of his high school career; after his senior year, Parade named him to their All-American team. During his junior year, in a game against Monessen High School, Montana completed 12 passes in 22 attempts, threw for 223 yards, and scored three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. His performance garnered attention from college recruiters, particularly those from Notre Dame. Notre Dame eventually offered Montana a scholarship, and he accepted it. One contributing factor in Montana's choice of colleges was Terry Hanratty, his boyhood idol, attended Notre Dame. In 2006, 32 years after Montana graduated, Ringgold High School renamed their football stadium "Joe Montana Stadium".
When Montana arrived at Notre Dame in the fall of 1974, the football program was coached by Ara Parseghian. During Parseghian's tenure, Notre Dame won the NCAA national championship in 1966 and 1973. Parseghian's success as a coach helped him recruit highly talented players. Though Montana was a top prospect, under Notre Dame policy in 1974 freshmen were not permitted to practice with or play on the varsity team, and consequently Montana appeared only in a few freshman team games. Montana's first significant contributions to the Notre Dame football team came during his sophomore year. On December 15, 1974, Parseghian resigned due to health problems. The university hired Dan Devine to replace Parseghian. Despite his limited playing time the previous year, Montana performed well during the 1975 spring practice. Devine was so impressed that he later told his wife: "I'm gonna start Joe Montana in the final spring game." When she replied, "Who's Joe Montana?", Devine said: "He's the guy who's going to feed our family for the next few years."
Devine did not feel Montana was ready to be the full-time starter in 1975; however, Montana played a key role in Notre Dame's victory over North Carolina. During the game, played in Chapel Hill, Montana came in with 5:11 left to play. At the time, North Carolina led by a score of 14–6. Montana spent one minute and two seconds of game time on the field. In that time, he had 129 passing yards and Notre Dame won the game, 21–14. Against Air Force, Notre Dame's next opponent, Montana again entered the game in the fourth quarter. Although Air Force led 30–10, Notre Dame won the game, 31–30. After the win against North Carolina, Devine said Moose Krause, the Notre Dame athletic director, said the game was the "greatest comeback I've ever seen". After the game against Air Force, Krause was quoted as saying: "This one's better than last week." In those two games, Montana demonstrated his ability to perform well in high-pressure circumstances. That characteristic would prove valuable, and Montana relied on it throughout his football career.
Before the start of the 1976 season, Montana separated his shoulder and was unable to compete that year. He applied for and was granted a medical redshirt waiver, earning him one more year of eligibility than other members of his scholarship class.
