Photograph by Peter Read Miller

"What could be better than to be the best quarterback of all, to be in charge, to be famous, to be a picture on everyone else's wall? You could be anything you want to be, but you want most to be this one man. He stands alone on his 100-yard field. He has answered all the questions on all the physical tests, finished where everyone else wanted to finish, the one guy to complete the American boyhood dream."

Text by Leigh Montville
Issue Date: December 24, 1990

In 1990 quarterback Joe Montana played what would be his final year with the San Francisco 49ers. Montana led the Niners to four Super Bowl titles in 12 seasons by the Bay and earned three Super Bowl MVP awards. Along the way, Montana earned a reputation for being impervious to pressure by engineering some of the most exciting late-game comebacks in NFL history.