Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
50 free Joe Montana trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Joe Montana rated a six in arm strength at the 1979 scouting combines, went 82nd in the draft behind three other quarterbacks, and retired with four Super Bowl rings, three Super Bowl MVPs and not a single Super Bowl interception in 122 attempts. Along the way he beat hypothermia with chicken soup in the Cotton Bowl, threw The Catch, drove 92 yards past Cincinnati and came back from a back injury doctors said should end his career. These 50 questions cover all of it: Monongahela, the NC State basketball offer, Dan Devine's depth chart, the 1977 title, Steve DeBerg, the Saints comeback, all four Super Bowls, the 22 straight completions, the 476-yard game, the Leonard Marshall sack, the Steve Young controversy, the Kansas City trade and Len Dawson's offer of No. 16. Off the field: Bird Legs, David W. Gibson, the Montagia wine label and Liquid 2 Ventures. Easy questions stick to the rings; the expert tier asks about Gary Forystek and the Schick commercial. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a football night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01With which team did Montana win four Super Bowls?
San Francisco 49ers
He started and won all four, with no interceptions in 122 Super Bowl attempts.
Q 02Which nickname did Montana earn for staying calm at key moments?
Joe Cool
He was also "the Comeback Kid" and, to teammates, "Bird Legs".
Q 03In which season did Montana's Notre Dame team win the national championship?
1977
It was the only title Dan Devine won as head coach; Montana began that year third on the depth chart.
Q 04In which round of the 1979 NFL draft was Montana selected?
Third
He was the 82nd overall pick and the fourth quarterback taken.
Q 05Who caught "The Catch" from Montana in the 1981 NFC Championship Game?
Dwight Clark
The leaping grab at the back of the end zone beat Dallas 28-27 and sent the 49ers to Super Bowl XVI.
Q 06Which team did Montana beat in both Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XXIII?
Cincinnati Bengals
The second meeting ended with the 92-yard drive and a touchdown to John Taylor with 34 seconds left.
Q 07Who caught the winning touchdown ending Montana's 92-yard drive in Super Bowl XXIII?
John Taylor
Montana went 8 of 9 on the drive, which began at his own 8-yard line with 3:20 left.
Q 08How many Super Bowl MVP awards did Montana win?
Three
He was the first player to win it three times, for Super Bowls XVI, XIX and XXIV.
Q 09What was the final score of Super Bowl XXIV, the most lopsided in history?
55-10
Montana threw a then-record five touchdown passes against Denver.
Q 10Which team did Montana join when he was traded away from San Francisco in 1993?
Kansas City Chiefs
He had vetoed a deal with the Cardinals, who offered the fourth overall pick.
Q 11What jersey number did Montana wear in Kansas City?
19
Len Dawson offered his retired 16 and Jan Stenerud his retired 3, but Montana chose his youth-football number.
Q 12In which Pennsylvania coal-mining town did Montana grow up?
Monongahela
He was born in nearby New Eagle, about 25 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Q 13Which school offered Montana a basketball scholarship out of high school?
NC State
Basketball was his favourite sport; he led Ringgold to a 1973 WPIAL title.
Q 14Which Notre Dame coach said Montana was "the guy who's going to feed our family"?
Q 21How many straight 300-yard passing games did Montana have in 1982, then a record?
Five
The 49ers went 3-6 in the nine-game season and missed the playoffs.
Q 22In 1983 the 49ers considered trading Montana for the right to draft which quarterback?
John Elway
They reconsidered and traded their first-round pick to San Diego instead.
Q 23The 1984 49ers were the first team to finish a regular season with how many wins?
15
The 1972 Dolphins had gone unbeaten, but in a 14-game season.
Q 24Which quarterback did Montana outduel in Super Bowl XIX with a record 331 yards?
Dan Devine
His wife had just asked, "Who's Joe Montana?"
Q 15Montana's 1979 Cotton Bowl comeback against Houston is remembered by what name?
The Chicken Soup Game
His temperature dropped to 96 degrees; he ate chicken soup at halftime and led three late touchdowns.
Q 16Which No. 1 team did Notre Dame beat 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl to clinch the 1977 title?
Texas
Montana had started the season third on the depth chart.
Q 17What mark out of nine did Montana receive for arm strength at a 1979 scouting combine?
Six
Washington State's Jack Thompson rated an eight and went first among quarterbacks.
Q 18Which starter did Montana back up for most of his rookie season in 1979?
Steve DeBerg
Montana threw only 23 passes that year and took over midway through 1980.
Q 19Montana's first NFL fourth-quarter comeback, from 35-7 down, came against whom in 1980?
New Orleans Saints
He finished his career with 31 such comebacks, 26 of them as a 49er.
Q 20How many fourth-quarter comeback wins did Montana record in his NFL career?
31
Twenty-six came with San Francisco and five with Kansas City.
Dan Marino
Bill Walsh called him "maybe the greatest quarterback of all time" afterwards.
Q 25What injury in week one of 1986 led doctors to suggest Montana retire?
Spinal disc
He returned eight weeks later and shared the Comeback Player of the Year award with Tommy Kramer.
Q 26How many consecutive passes did Montana complete in 1987 to set an NFL record?
22
He also threw a career-high 31 touchdowns that year in just 13 games.
Q 27Which quarterback did Bill Walsh trade for in 1987, sparking a years-long controversy?
Steve Young
Young came from Tampa Bay and eventually replaced Montana after his 1991-92 injuries.
Q 28How many fourth-quarter touchdown passes did Montana throw at Philadelphia in 1989?
Four
He finished with 428 yards and five touchdowns in that comeback.
Q 29Montana threw a career-best 476 yards and six touchdowns in 1990 against which team?
Atlanta Falcons
Five of the six scores went to Jerry Rice.
Q 30Which Giants defender's sack knocked Montana out of the 1990 NFC Championship Game?
Leonard Marshall
The Giants won 15-13 on five field goals, ending the 49ers' three-peat bid.