After an impressive pre-draft workout with 49er coaches, Joe was selected in the third-round of the 1979 draft. Becoming the starting quarterback wasn’t an option. Making the team was. But by the end of his second season, Joe took over the 49er offense.

The 49ers of the late 1970s were not even close to the 49ers of the 1980s. In 1979, the 49ers finished 2-14 (the same record as 1978). In 1980, the record was 6-10, an improvement but not earth-shattering. In 1981, that all changed. The 49ers, perennial losers, became winners, finishing the season 13-3, the best record in team history at that point. The team capped off its impressive year by defeating the New York Giants in its first playoff game, the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC title game (with the now infamous Catch by Dwight Clark) and the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. Joe was named Super Bowl MVP.

After the strike-shortened 1982 season which saw the 49ers finish with a 3-6 record, the team was back in the playoffs in 1983, but lost in the NFC championship game. That loss set up one of the greatest seasons in NFL history.

In 1984, the 49ers were in their prime. Joe was in his sixth season. Young players like Ronnie Lott were becoming stars of their own. The team won 15 of 16 games by rolling over opponents. It continued in the playoffs where the team was unstoppable in the three NFC divisional games, winning each game by more than 10 points.

Joe himself was having one of the best years of his career. He passed for more than 3,600 yards while completing 28 touchdown passes. His quarterback rating of 102.9 was the best in the NFC.

But overshadowing Joe’s performance was Miami Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino. In 1984, Marino threw for 48 touchdowns and 5,084 yards, both NFL single-season records. The only way to prove who was better was to meet head-to-head. They did in Super Bowl XIX.

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The game looked to be a shootout right away, with both teams trading scores. That would only last one quarter. In the second quarter, the 49ers scored three consecutive touchdowns—Joe hit Roger Craig on an 8-yard pass and ran for 6 yards on another. The quick hit knocked the Dolphins out. The 49ers won 38-16 and Joe earned his second MVP award. His numbers for the day: 24 completions out of 35 attempts for 331 yards and three TDs. Marino would become one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game’s history, but on this day, he was second to Joe.

Trying to repeat as champs in 1985 was difficult. The team fought hard to get into the playoffs, but was defeated by the New York Giants in the NFC Wild Card Game.

Joe and the 49ers made a commitment to get back to the Super Bowl in 1986, and looked to be on the right track. But in the team’s victory in week #1 versus Tampa Bay, Joe ruptured a disk in his back. The injury kept Joe out of action for eight weeks. He returned strong, leading the 49ers to the NFC West Division crown. The 49ers went on to play the Giants who knocked SF out of the 1985 playoffs. But instead of taking their revenge against the Giants, the team nearly took Joe out of football.

With a minute remaining in the second quarter, Joe dropped back to pass. As soon as he released the ball, Giants’ nose tackle Jim Burt leveled Joe, and the pass was intercepted and returned for a TD by Lawrence Taylor. While the play was huge for the Giants (they eventually won the game 49-3), it knocked Joe unconscious, and forced him out of the game.

1987 brought more optimism. The 49ers finished 14-2. Joe was magnificent, completing at one time 22 passes in a row for an NFL record. Unfortunately an injured hamstring slowed him late in the season which was a factor in the team’s first-round playoff exit.

While 1987 had all the earmarks of a Super Bowl caliber team, 1988 did not. The team squeaked into the playoffs with a 11-5 record, but once there, they began to dominate. The 49ers defeated Minnesota and Chicago by more than three touchdowns each to face Cincinnati in the rematch of Super Bowl XVI.

In Super Bowl XXIII, Joe put up spectacular stats, completing 23 of 36 passes for 357 yards and two touchdowns. However, the Bengals led most of the game, and were ahead by three with less than four minutes in the game. Joe drove the offense 92 yards before completing a pass to John Taylor to win the team’s third Super Bowl of the 1980s.

While the 49ers struggled in 1988, in 1989 the team and Joe showed why they were one of the best ever. Joe completed 70 percent of his passes and had a quarterback ranking of 112.4, the best single-season rating in NFL history to win the NFL Most Valuable Player award. In the playoffs he was better, completing 78.3 percent of his passes and having a quarter back ranking of 146.4. The 49ers rolled over the Denver Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV and Joe was named the MVP for the third time.

Super Bowl XXIV would also be Joe’s last Super Bowl appearance. In 1990, the 49ers were 14-2 in the regular season but lost in the NFC Championship game to (who else?) the Giants on a last-second field goal. It would be Joe’s last playoff performance with the team. Joe missed all of the 1991 season due to a torn elbow tendon. In 1992, Joe missed all but one half of the last game also due to injury.

During his 14 seasons in San Francisco, Joe turned a perennial loser into World Champions four times over and quarterbacked one of the most potent offenses in NFL history. It’s no wonder why people call Joe Montana “Super Joe.”