Joe Cool was a stone-cold lock to make the NFL 100 All-Time Team. On Saturday, he became the first quarterback named to the exclusive club.
Hall of Fame quarterback and San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana was announced during the Rams-49ers game as one of 10 QBs to be named to the All-Time Team.
Nine other signal-callers will join Montana on the list during a two-hour special Friday at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network, hosted by Rich Eisen and featuring Bill Belichick and Cris Collinsworth.
Selected in the end of the third round out of Notre Dame in the 1979 draft, Montana didn’t start right away for the 49ers but eventually took over the reins from Steve DeBerg. In 1981, Montana enjoyed his first full season as Niners starter, completing a league-high 63.7 percent of his passes and leading San Francisco to a 13-3 record, a NFC title game win over the famed Dallas Cowboys (featuring “The Catch”) and the Niners’ first-ever Super Bowl victory.
It would be the first of four Super Bowl titles San Francisco would win under Montana (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989).
Surrounded by the likes of coach Bill Walsh, running back Roger Craig and receivers Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice and John Taylor, Montana blossomed into the greatest quarterback of his era and arguably the greatest of all-time. From 1981 to 1990, the Niners missed the postseason just once under Montana. He led the league in completion percentage five times, was named league MVP twice and was awarded Super Bowl MVP thrice.
A three-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler, Montana’s career ended not with the 49ers but with the Chiefs to whom he was traded in 1993 to make room for burgeoning southpaw Steve Young in San Francisco. Montana’s Chiefs reached the playoffs in both 1993 and 1994 but never made it past the AFC title game.
Montana retired after the 1994 season and was eventually enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
He finished his career with a 117-47 record, a 63.2 completion percentage, 40,551 passing yards, 273 passing touchdowns and 139 interceptions.
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