Read online Montana : The Biography of Football's Joe Cool DJV, PDF
9781250017840 English 125001784X As long as football is played, Joe Montana will be synonymous with the heart-pounding rally. Seemingly impervious to the pressure of a scoreboard deficit, the quarterback known as Joe Cool brought a steadying calm to every huddle, especially when the situation seemed especially dire. His reputation for miracles began to take root at the University of Notre Dame. In the 1979 Cotton Bowl, he overcame the flu, hypothermia and a 22-point deficit to lead the Fighting Irish to a stunning victory over Houston. This narrative continued in the NFL, as he engineered 31 fourth-quarter comebacks, including victories known in professional football lore as The Catch and The Drive, forever casting his career in a heroic glow.In MONTANA, acclaimed author Keith Dunnavant sketches the definitive portrait of a man who repeatedly defied the odds, on and off the field.While leading the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl championships over a nine-year period, establishing a new standard for passing efficiency, and twice earning the league's Most Valuable Player award, Montana became the signature quarterback of the 1980s and one of the greatest ever to play the game. Overcoming his own limitations, which caused him to be underrated coming out of Notre Dame, he quickly mastered Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense, and thereby, helped reinvent offensive football. But it was rarely easy. Like the rallies he so often produced, his life was filled with the sort of tension that made his journey seem routinely dramatic: The father who pushed him. The high school coach who challenged his commitment. The college coach who very nearly squandered him. The back surgery that almost ended his career. The younger athlete who tried to take his job.Rich an anecdotal detail, insight and context, MONTANA is a powerful story about a man who was defined by his intense competitiveness, and how this intangible helped him become one of the ionic figures in football history., Joe Montana is one of the iconic names in football history, a three-time Super Bowl MVP and eight-time Pro Bowl selection who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. Set against the backdrop of late 20th century America, this biography traces Montana's life from working class childhood in Pennsylvania, through his college years at Notre Dame, and finally to his remarkable career in San Francisco and beyond. His story reverberates not only with history-making achievement and heart-pounding drama, but also with the doubt, struggle and conflict of a true underdog. Even after a successful college career, Montana was dismissed by many pro scouts as too ungifted and too small, he and was drafted to the San Francisco 49ers; one of the worst teams in the league. But what Montana brought to a football team could not be captured in a series of ones, twos and threes; he was a born leader. Once he got to San Francisco he led his team to victory again and again, and played a central role in the evolution of the West Coast Offense, revolutionizing the way football was played. Acclaimed author Keith Dunnavant brings Montana's dramatic journey to life in vivid detail, featuring interviews with 49ers teammates like Randy Cross and Bruce Collie, and even rock star Huey Lewis who is a close friend. MONTANA is at once intimate and comprehensive; a compelling biography of an American hero and how he changed the game of football.
9781250017840 English 125001784X As long as football is played, Joe Montana will be synonymous with the heart-pounding rally. Seemingly impervious to the pressure of a scoreboard deficit, the quarterback known as Joe Cool brought a steadying calm to every huddle, especially when the situation seemed especially dire. His reputation for miracles began to take root at the University of Notre Dame. In the 1979 Cotton Bowl, he overcame the flu, hypothermia and a 22-point deficit to lead the Fighting Irish to a stunning victory over Houston. This narrative continued in the NFL, as he engineered 31 fourth-quarter comebacks, including victories known in professional football lore as The Catch and The Drive, forever casting his career in a heroic glow.In MONTANA, acclaimed author Keith Dunnavant sketches the definitive portrait of a man who repeatedly defied the odds, on and off the field.While leading the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl championships over a nine-year period, establishing a new standard for passing efficiency, and twice earning the league's Most Valuable Player award, Montana became the signature quarterback of the 1980s and one of the greatest ever to play the game. Overcoming his own limitations, which caused him to be underrated coming out of Notre Dame, he quickly mastered Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense, and thereby, helped reinvent offensive football. But it was rarely easy. Like the rallies he so often produced, his life was filled with the sort of tension that made his journey seem routinely dramatic: The father who pushed him. The high school coach who challenged his commitment. The college coach who very nearly squandered him. The back surgery that almost ended his career. The younger athlete who tried to take his job.Rich an anecdotal detail, insight and context, MONTANA is a powerful story about a man who was defined by his intense competitiveness, and how this intangible helped him become one of the ionic figures in football history., Joe Montana is one of the iconic names in football history, a three-time Super Bowl MVP and eight-time Pro Bowl selection who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. Set against the backdrop of late 20th century America, this biography traces Montana's life from working class childhood in Pennsylvania, through his college years at Notre Dame, and finally to his remarkable career in San Francisco and beyond. His story reverberates not only with history-making achievement and heart-pounding drama, but also with the doubt, struggle and conflict of a true underdog. Even after a successful college career, Montana was dismissed by many pro scouts as too ungifted and too small, he and was drafted to the San Francisco 49ers; one of the worst teams in the league. But what Montana brought to a football team could not be captured in a series of ones, twos and threes; he was a born leader. Once he got to San Francisco he led his team to victory again and again, and played a central role in the evolution of the West Coast Offense, revolutionizing the way football was played. Acclaimed author Keith Dunnavant brings Montana's dramatic journey to life in vivid detail, featuring interviews with 49ers teammates like Randy Cross and Bruce Collie, and even rock star Huey Lewis who is a close friend. MONTANA is at once intimate and comprehensive; a compelling biography of an American hero and how he changed the game of football.