Joe Montana has cemented himself as a Bay Area and NFL legend from his Hall of Fame career. The quarterback was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft, and went on to win four Super Bowls, was named to eight Pro Bowls and garnered All-Pro honors three times. Throughout his 16 years in the league, Montana threw for 40,551 yards and 273 touchdowns for a 92.3 career passer rating, and remains in the conversation as one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history.

"Joe Montana, simply stated, was the greatest quarterback ever to play the game. And I don't think we'll see the likes of him again," Edward DeBartolo Jr. said. "The likes of which go back all the way to 1979 when I don't even think that Bill Walsh, with all his foresight and with all his brilliance, could ever of realized what we were in midst of when we took a chance on that skinny kid from Notre Dame. It changed our lives forever."

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Montana earned the nicknames "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid" for his ability to calmly bring the 49ers to victory from the brink of a loss during the final moments of the game. The quarterback led his teams to 32 fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories.

"We all knew greatness when we saw it," DeBartolo Jr. said. "The fans of San Francisco certainly knew it, and so did the fans of Kansas City. Football fans everywhere, were well aware of the fact that they were witnessing history in the making as they watched Joe turn losses into wins. What to any other quarterback would have been a career-making highlight, was to Joe, just another day at the office."

Throughout the years, quarterbacks have been seen talking on a telephone on the sidelines during games, which are typically used to communicate with coordinators who watch the contest from a booth. During an interview with NFL Films, Montana revealed that one day he found out the sideline phones could dial out.

"I don't know what made me do it," Montana said. "But one day, I had hung up, and I'm sitting there going, 'Hmm, I wonder if these things call out?' So I pick up the phone, ... I hit 9, got a dial tone and I dial my house."

The QB used the phone on the 49ers sideline to call his wife, Jennifer, during a game.

"The phone rang, I picked it up and it was Joe," Jennifer said. "He would say, 'I'm calling you to say I love you.'"

Since the first time he dialed out using a sideline phone, Montana checked in every stadium to see if he could call his wife.

In Montana's four Super Bowl contests, the quarterback threw 122 pass attempts and never had an interception.

In Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII and XXIV, Montana completed 68 percent of his passes for 1,142 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Montana became the first player in NFL history to win three Super Bowl MVP awards.

The quarterback earned the honor in Super Bowls XVI, XIX and XXIV.

In San Francisco's process of redeveloping the site where Candlestick Park once stood, the city honored many sports legends along the way. San Francisco dedicated a street to the 49ers quarterback, naming it "Joe Montana Drive."

During the ceremony, Montana requested that the street be known as "Montana-Clark Drive," honoring Montana's longtime teammate Dwight Clark who helped create one of the NFL's most memorable plays, "The Catch."