Joe Cool’s Top Cards
The first true legendary quarterback of the modern NFL, Joe Montana, or “Joe Cool” or “The Comeback Kid,” laid the blueprint for every great quarterback in the league to come after him. Over the last few decades, he’s been your favorite quarterback’s favorite quarterback. It’s still arguable that if you had to pick a QB to play for your team in the Super Bowl, you’d pick him over Patrick Mahomes or even Tom Brady. When it came to the playoffs or the Super Bowl – in which he was undefeated (he went four for four while never throwing a single interception) – Montana was consistently flawless and often played hurt back when the game was far more physically brutal to quarterbacks.
Montana won three MVPs, probably should’ve won four, and didn’t even have Jerry Rice for half his career with the Niners. His 92-yard drive against the Bengals to win his third Super Bowl is what romanticized NFL stories are made of. When he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, he won two playoff games when the franchise had only won a single playoff game before him. He helped them win a division they had not won in 22 years. He went to the Pro Bowl in his penultimate season. He’s everything everyone wants in a QB. These are Joe Cool’s top cards to collect.
Top Joe Montana Cards
1983 Topps Football #4 Joe Montana
Player info
• Born June 11, 1956
• 1983 season had a career-high 332 completions and 61 rushes for 284 yards
Card info
• 396 card set
card back
• a recap of Montana’s NFL record for five-straight 300-plus-yard games during the 1982 season (which would be broken by Steve Young’s six).
1985 Topps Football #157 Joe Montana
Player info
• Won his second Super Bowl in 1984
• in ’84, set the record for most passing yards in a Super Bowl at the time (331)
Card info
• 396 card set
• entirely horizontal design
card back
• His lifetime stats from the 1979 season through 1984 and a recap of his near-perfect Super Bowl XIX performance
1986 Topps Football #156 Joe Montana
Player info
• had a spinal injury that had doctors suggesting he retire, but only missed 8 games
• co-winner of the Comeback Player of the Year award
• His number 16 was retired by the 49ers on December 15, 1997
Card info
• 396 card set
• iconic green with white lines (football field) design
card back
• Career stats, vitals, and a note that he is, at that point, the NFC’s second-all-time leading passer
2011 Topps Supreme Football Red Auto #A-JM Joe Montana /20
Player info
• Most pass attempts without throwing an interception in a Super Bowl (122)
• Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the year 2000
Card info
• 440 card set
card back
• a certificate of authenticity and quote from MOntana’s head coach, Bill Walsh
2006 Topps Football Triple Threads Relics Auto #TTRA-66 Joe Montana /18
Player info
• Most wins in a Super Bowl without a loss: 4 (tied with Terry Bradshaw)
• Second-fastest player to win 100 games
Card info
• 149 total cards
• 31 insert sets, including triple threads
card back
• A short summary of Montana’s career, including four Super Bowls, three Super Bowl mvps, and eight Pro Bowl selections
