Up for auction “Football Legends” Joe Montana & Jerry Rice Hand Signed 4X6 Color Photo

ES-8201


Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", Montana is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. After winning a national championship at Notre Dame, Montana began his NFL career in 1979 at San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. With the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player to be named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. 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. Montana was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1986, Montana won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. In 1989 and again in 1990, the Associated Press named Montana the NFL MVP, and Sports Illustrated magazine named Montana the 1990 "Sportsman of the Year". Montana was elected to eight Pro Bowls as well as being voted First-team All-Pro by the AP in 1987, 1989, and 1990. Montana had the highest passer rating in the National Football Conference (NFC) five times (1981198419851987, and 1989), and in both 1987 and 1989, Montana had the highest passer rating in the NFL. Among his career highlights, "The Catch" (the game-winning touchdown pass to Dwight Clark vs. Dallas in the 1981 NFC Championship Game) and a Super Bowl-winning 92-yard drive against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII are staples of NFL highlight films. The 49ers retired Montana's No. 16 jersey number after the conclusion of his playing career. In 1994, Montana earned a spot on the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team; he is also a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Montana third on their list of Football's 100 Greatest Players. Also in 1999, ESPN named Montana the 25th greatest athlete of the 20th century. In 2006, Sports Illustrated rated him the number-one clutch quarterback of all time.

 Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962)[1] is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 22 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championships, he then had two shorter stints at the end of career with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. Nicknamed "World" because of his superb catching ability, his accomplishments and numerous records, led him to be widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, and one of the greatest players of all time.[2][3][4] His biography on the official Pro Football Hall of Fame website names him: "the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals".[5] In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players".[6] In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history. Rice played college football for four seasons with the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, setting several NCAA and team receiving records, including becoming the all-time leader in NCAA receiving touchdowns. He joined the 49ers in 1985 after being drafted with the 16th overall pick. After a lackluster rookie season, Rice emerged in the following season as one of the best receivers in the league, leading the NFL in receiving yards and touchdowns: a feat he achieved four times. In 1987, Rice set the record for most receiving touchdowns in a season, with 22, in a twelve-game strike-shortened season. He won back-to-back championships in 1988 and 1989, and was the MVP of the former championship. Rice developed connections with quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young that are viewed as among the best in NFL history, helping him lead the league in both receiving yards and touchdowns six times, and in receptions twice. Going into the 1990s, Rice won a third Super Bowl in 1994, and a second Offensive Player of The Year Award. After recovering from a knee injury and his play regressing, San Francisco traded him to the Raiders in 2001. Rice continued to start for the team, and helped lead them to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII, where they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, affecting Rice's previously unblemished Super Bowl record. Midway through 2004, the Raiders traded him to the Seahawks, where he spent his final season. He briefly signed with the Broncos, retiring shortly before the start of the 2005 season. Rice is the career leader in most major statistical categories for wide receivers, including receptions, receiving touchdowns, receiving yards, scrimmage yards, and total touchdowns, holding the postseason records for these statistics, and once held the single season records for yards and touchdowns. He scored more points than any other non-kicker in NFL history with 1,256. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times (1986–1996, 1998, 2002) and named All-Pro twelve times in his 20 NFL seasons, including ten First-team All-Pros, tied for the most by any player. Rice was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Rice was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and in the same year was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. The NFL honored him as a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team and the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, as well as both the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.