JOE MONTANA
For a first-hand account of the career of the Pro Football Hall of Famer, 65, check out Joe Montana: Cool Under Pressure (Jan. 6 on Peacock). The documentary covers his earliest days as a high school All-American, his gridiron glory at Notre Dame and his four Super Bowl wins with the San Francisco 49ers. Montana’s family, former teammates, coaches and admirers share their memories of the man nicknamed the “Comeback Kid” and “Joe Cool.”
Your football career is well-documented. What does Cool Under Pressure add to your story? There’s a lot more when I was young—the trials and tribulations I had to go through, starting in high school, the ups and downs of my career, the whys and how I got to where I am. Then there are things that took place later on that I don’t think anyone knew about, except for the people closest to me.
Do you have a proudest career moment? We played Philadelphia in Philadelphia, and that [1989] game I’ll never forget. They were a big, physical team, and everyone kept saying, “You guys can’t handle them.” We were down by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and we ended up coming back to win. The struggle that we went through, and the leap—I’ll never forget.
You’ve won four Super Bowls, which means four rings. Do you ever wear them? No, they’re in the safe. They’re more memorabilia-type things than jewelry for me. I know I have them; I know I’ve won them. Every now and then I take a look at them.
What does retirement look like? I started a venture fund several years ago. There are four of us, and my older son [Nate] came to work for us a few years ago. Now, my younger daughter [Elizabeth] is helping out on the office side. We invest in early-stage startups across all sectors.