Notre Dame legend and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana turns 64 years old today.
Born in western Pennsylvania, Montana made Notre Dame his college of choice in part because his favorite player, Terry Hanratty, attended and played for the Fighting Irish.
Montana may have arrived at Notre Dame in 1974 but he became an Irish hero when he came off the bench to lead Notre Dame to a comeback victory at North Carolina. He do so again a few weeks later against Air Force, guiding the Notre Dame comeback as they won 31-30 after trailing 30-10.
1976 saw Montana separate his shoulder before the season, keeping him out for the year. He returned in ’77 to see his starting spot gone but after a loss at Mississippi and Notre Dame trailing Purdue by 10 with roughly 11 minutes to play, Montana guided another Irish comeback, throwing for 154 yards and a touchdown in the eventual 31-24 victory. That squad wouldn’t lose again behind Montana as a Cotton Bowl victory over No. 1 Texas earned them a national championship.
In Montana’s final season at Notre Dame a national championship wasn’t in the cards but an epic comeback to cap a memorable career was. After an 8-3 regular season (after an 0-2 start), No. 8 Notre Dame looked done for, trailing No. 9 Houston 34-12 entering the fourth quarter.
Montana was sick with the flu on a nasty, 24 degree day in North Texas, but some chicken soup did him and the Irish wonders as Montana guided the Irish to one last epic comeback, scoring as time expired to tie things up before Kris Haines knocked the extra point through (after a Notre Dame false start) to win the game.
Montana would go on to be drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. We’re unsure if professional football ever worked out for him but what we do know is that he is responsible for one of the best athlete appearances in the history of Saturday Night Live:
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