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JOE MONTANA

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Born in New Eagle, Pennsylvania, Joe Montana grew up in Monongahela, a coal-mining town about 25 miles south of Pittsburgh. He attended Ringgold High School, where he played football, baseball and basketball. Although he didn't start at quarterback until his junior year, it was his brilliant play in a 34-34 tie against archrival Monessen High School that attracted the attention of Notre Dame recruiters who eventually offered the young quarterback an athletic scholarship.

His career statistics at Notre Dame are not overwhelming but his gutsy play is legendary. He got his first start as a sophomore when the team's starting quarterback went down to injury. Coach Dan Devine later said he wasn't sure what motivated him to give the starting nod to Montana. "He just impressed me as the kind of guy who you think is going to get the job done," he said. And get the job done he did. Twice that season he came off the bench to pull out games in the fourth quarter. Over the course of his ND career, he found himself out for an entire season, listed third on the QB depth chart and rallying the team as the "Comeback Kid" with performances such as Joe's final game in the 1979 Cotton Bowl. Down 34-12 in the fourth quarter he electrified a national audience as he directed a 35-34 win against the University of Houston.

Pro scouts were still skeptical. They questioned Montana's arm strength and his overall durability. As a result he was not selected until the third round of the 1979 NFL draft. Three quarterbacks, Jack Thompson, Phil Simms and Steve Fuller were selected before him. Soon head coach Bill Walsh would go on record as saying, "The minute I saw Joe move, there was no question in my mind that he was the best I'd seen. I knew with the office I planned to run, Joe Montana would be great."

Montana once credited "seventy percent" of his success in football to the Walsh-style offense. "It is a system that gives quarterbacks a lot more options, a lot of places to put the ball and when there's a blitz, it is a lot easier to overcome, probably, than in any other system," explained Walsh.

From 1981, Joe Montana's first full season as a starter, through 1990, his last with the team, the 49ers finished first in their division except in the 1982 strike-shortened season, when they finished 11th overall, and in 1985 when they finished in second place. San Francisco was the team of the decade and Joe Montana was the principal reason why.

By the time he retired following the 1994 season, Montana ranked fourth all-time in career passing yards, attempts, and passing touchdowns. His 3.409 completions ranked third all-time, and his career passer rating of 92.3 still ranks second in the NFL's record book. Thirty-nine times he passed for more than 300 yards in a game, including several times in which he surpassed the 400-yard mark. His six 300-yard passing performances in the post-season remain an NFL record. Eleven times he led his team to the playoffs. Eight times he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl. Two times he was named MVP of the Super Bowl.

Some say that Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. Whether or not he is the greatest of all time will be the subject of debate for the game's pundits and historians for years to come. His election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in just his first year of eligibility is testimony to the irrefutable fact that Joe Montana absolutely ranks among the very best quarterbacks to ever play the game.