John Iacono

State of grace

Montana’s calm precision produced a quartet of championships

A four-time Super Bowl winner with the San Francisco 49ers, Joe Montana exuded cool in the face of pressure. The two-time NFL MVP never had the strongest arm, was never the fastest or the most durable. But he won, and he played his best in the biggest games. In perhaps his finest hour, at Super Bowl XXIII, Montana capped a game-winning drive with a perfect strike to John Taylor to douse the Cincinnati Bengals and establish a dynasty.