[1][2][3][4][5][6] 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.

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.

One contributing factor in Montana's choice of colleges was that Terry Hanratty, his boyhood idol, attended Notre Dame.

Devine was so impressed that he later told his wife: "I'm gonna start Joe Montana in the final spring game."

[17] After the win against North Carolina, Devine said that Moose Krause, the Notre Dame athletic director, said that the game was the "greatest comeback I've ever seen".

When the 1977 season began, Montana was the third quarterback listed on the team's depth chart, behind Rusty Lisch and Gary Forystek.

Montana entered with approximately 11 minutes remaining and Purdue leading 24–14; he threw for 154 yards and one touchdown, and Notre Dame won the game, 31–24.

When the second half began with Houston up 20–12, Montana stayed in the locker room, where Notre Dame medical staff gave him warmed intravenous fluids, covered him in blankets, and fed him chicken soup.

At the start of the fourth quarter, New Orleans still led by a score of 35–21, but San Francisco tied the game by the end of regulation play.

[34] On January 10, 1982, San Francisco faced the Dallas Cowboys as three-point home underdogs at Candlestick Park in the NFC Championship Game.

With 1:23 remaining in regulation, the 49ers offense had the ball at the Lions 14-yard line and Montana completed a touchdown pass to wide receiver Freddie Solomon, giving San Francisco the lead on the ensuing extra-point.

"[29] Aided in part by Montana's performance at quarterback, the 49ers advanced to the NFL Playoffs again in 1985; however, they lost in the NFC Wild card game to the New York Giants.

[54] Montana was co-recipient (with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer) of the 1986 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

[59] Prior to the 1987 season, Bill Walsh completed a trade for Steve Young, then a quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[71] The 49ers were successful in the playoffs, easily beating the Minnesota Vikings 41–13 in the divisional round and the Los Angeles Rams 30–3 in the NFC Championship game.

[81][82][83][84] The 49ers looked forward to becoming the first NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowls, and they defeated Washington in the Divisional Round to advance to the NFC Championship Game to face the New York Giants.

[87] In the final game of the 1992 regular season; a Monday Night Football matchup against the Detroit Lions, Montana stepped in and played the entire second half.

He suited up for the final time as a 49er in the team's NFC Championship showdown with the Dallas Cowboys, though as third-string QB behind Young and Steve Bono.

[92] His trade was the catalyst for the subsequent Chiefs' free-agent signing of star Los Angeles Raiders running back Marcus Allen on June 9.

[93] The arrival of Montana and Allen, both former Super Bowl MVPs, generated much media attention and excitement in Kansas City.

"[93] Montana was injured for part of the 1993 season, but was still selected to his final Pro Bowl, as the Chiefs won their division for the first time in 22 years.

[96] Then against the Houston Oilers, he led the team to 28 second-half points, including three touchdown passes to earn the 29th fourth-quarter comeback win of his career.

[97] In the AFC Championship Game, Kansas City lost to the Buffalo Bills 30–13,[98] with Montana suffering a concussion during the third play of the third quarter and yielding to Dave Krieg.

Montana led his team to a 9–7 record, sufficient for another postseason appearance, where they lost in the wild-card playoff round to the Miami Dolphins and Dan Marino, 27–17.

[102] Montana has fondly remembered the Chiefs' home of Arrowhead Stadium with its "unbelievable roar" from field level, saying, "The thing about Kansas City, it doesn't matter whether they're winning or losing, that fan base is ridiculous.

Head coach Marty Schottenheimer pulled Montana aside before his first game at Arrowhead and told him to prepare for a volume he had never previously experienced.

With 58 seconds left in the 1981 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, he completed a game-winning touchdown pass so memorable that it would become known simply as "The Catch".

In Super Bowl XXIII against the Cincinnati Bengals, Montana threw another remarkable game-winning touchdown pass at the end of a 92-yard drive with only 36 seconds left on the game clock.

[108] Montana earned the nickname "Joe Cool" for his ability to stay calm at key moments, and "Comeback Kid" for his history of rallying his teams from late-game deficits.