Any review of professional football dynasties throughout history
would be incomplete without mentioning the great San Francisco 49ers
dynasty that existed over the course of the 1980s and into the first
part of the following decade. In fact, that dynasty was one of the most
impressive to ever take the field, as it occurred during the playing
years of some of football's all time great stars - men like Steve Young
and the indomitable Jerry Rice. Over a sixteen year period, 49ers teams
compiled ten-plus win seasons each year and, with their great
quarterback Joe Montana, won four amazing Super Bowls. Alabama
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The iconic quarterback
Joe Cool, as Montana was often called, first began play with the 49ers
during the 1979 season. Penn
State Pool Table He would remain there until the end of the
1992 campaign, when he would be traded to the Chiefs. His style of play
is best remembered for his unshakable determination to win, even when
it appeared that his team was doomed to lose. Time and again, Montana
would lead his team down the field during the closing moments of games
in which they were trailing, and make some spectacular throw to seal a
win. Citadel
Bar Stool Well, that's the legend anyway. The reality is that
during his entire sixteen-year career, there were 31 fourth period
comeback drives - many in crucial playoff situations or other big
games. As time has passed, the legend of Joe the comeback kid has grown
to where it now seems as though the 49ers were always coming back from
a deficit. The fact is that they were too good to get behind that often!
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The Championships
The first of Montana's four Super Bowl runs was perhaps also the most
memorable. Texas
Pool Table The 1981 season culminated in a matchup with Dallas in
January of 1982, with the NFC title and a right to represent the
conference in Super Bowl XVI on the line. At the end of the game, with
the 49ers trailing by six, Montana engineered a drive that resulted in
a game-winning touchdown pass with less than a minute to spare. The
pass's reception by Dwight Clark has since passed into NFL Lore as "The
Catch" - and is considered one of the greatest plays in the history of
professional football. The 49ers would go on to defeat the Bengals and
win that year's Super Bowl, with Montana earning MVP honors for his
performance. The 49ers would later go on to win Super Bowls XIX, XXIII,
and XXIV with Montana as quarterback. By the time of that fourth
championship, Montana had collected his third Super Bowl MVP award. To
date, he is the only NFL player to have enjoyed that honor.
The Legend of Joe
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Montana is not some mere relic of a bygone age. Some remember him as the aging quarterback who prevented Steve Young from enjoying a role as starter until he too had wasted much of his youth. Montana was none of that. He was a winner, through and through, whose four championship rings - matching Bradshaw's - Oklahoma State Pool Table elevate him to a class with few members. There was no surprise in the league when Joe's last two seasons of play, with the Chiefs, resulted in him leading Kansas City Oklahoma Pool Table into the AFC title match. For him, even that was possible.