Joe Montana, selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1979 National Football League Draft, had a stellar career with the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. A master of late-game comebacks, Montana directed his teams to 31 fourth quarter come-from-behind wins during his illustrious career, including a 92-yard drive in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XXIII.
His uncanny ability to bring a team back from apparent defeat was so common that it simply became referred to as "Montana Magic." A true student of the game, Montana won the NFL's passing title in both 1987 and 1989. He topped the NFC in passing five times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989).
Thirty-nine times he passed for more than 300 yards in a game, including seven times in which he surpassed 400 yards. His six 300-yard passing performances in the post-season are an NFL record. He also owns the career playoff record for attempts, completions, touchdowns, and yards gained passing.
Eleven times the New Eagle, Pennsylvania native led his team to the playoffs. Along the way, he captured nine divisional championships and victories in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV. His outstanding play in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, and XXIV earned him Most Valuable Player honors in each game.
Named All-NFL three times and All-NFC on five occasions, Montana was voted to the Pro Bowl eight times, which was a league record for a quarterback at the time. In 1992, after missing 31 consecutive games due to an injury to his throwing arm, Montana made a dramatic comeback. In the second half of the regular season finale, a Monday Night Football offering vs. the Detroit Lions, Montana performed his magic of old, completing 15 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers defeated the Lions 24-6.
In 1994 Montana became just the fifth quarterback to pass for more than 40,000 yards in a career. At the time of his retirement, he ranked fourth in career passing yardage (40,551 yards), attempts (5,391), and passing touchdowns (273). His 3,409 completions ranked third all-time, and his career passer rating of 92.3 was second all-time. (excerpt from the Pro Football of Fame website)
Walter Payton, the Chicago Bears' first-round choice and the fourth player selected in the 1975 National Football League Draft, developed into a superstar of unusual dimensions during his 13-season NFL tenure from 1975 to 1987, all of which he spent with the Chicago Bears.
The 5-10, 200-pound running back who rushed for 3,563 yards in four seasons at Jackson State went on to dominate the rushing section of the NFL record book during and long after his career ended.
The records he held at the time of his retirement included 16,726 total yards, 10 seasons with 1,000 or more yards rushing, 275 yards rushing in one game against Minnesota (1977), 77 games with more than 100 yards rushing, and 110 rushing touchdowns. Payton had 4,368 combined net attempts and accounted for 21,803 combined net yards. He also scored an impressive 750 points on 125 touchdowns.
Payton won the NFC rushing title five straight years from 1976 to 1980. He also led the NFC with 96 points in 1977 and won the NFL kickoff return championship in his rookie 1975 campaign. He was named both All-Pro and All-NFC seven times and played in nine Pro Bowl games. Payton was selected as the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1977 and 1985, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 1977 and 1985 and the NFC Most Valuable Player in 1977.
An amazing runner, Walter rushed for more than 1,000 yards 10 of his 13 seasons. His best season came in 1977, when he ran for 1,852 yards, third best in history at that time. Payton's 492 career pass receptions for 4,538 yards and 15 touchdowns contributed to his exceptional combined net yard totals.
Extremely durable, Payton missed one game in his rookie campaign and then played in 186 consecutive games. (excerpt from the Pro Football of Fame website)