Joe Montana "too old"

[snopes]

Comment: Here's a story that supposedly occurred about Pro Football Hall
of Famer Joe Montana.

Joe was in the later days of playing with the San Francisco 49ers before
finishing his career with the Kansas City Chiefs. Steve Young had taken
over as QB because Montana had hurt his thumb. Joe and his wife were at a
restuarant and everyone recognized him except the waitress. When she comes
up to the table she innocently asks Joe (in earshot of others in the
restaurant)what happened to his thumb as it was heavily bandaged. Joe
replies that he hurt it playing football, to which the waitress replies,
"Now don't you think you a little to old to still be playing football?" At
this point the listening restuarant crowd roars with laughter and humble
Joe simply says, "Yeah, you might be right."

[Johnny Slick]

Probably one of those ones where, if you guys do decide to post it, you'd label "undetermined" because it's virtually impossible to prove that somebody didn't say something. Nevertheless, it does combine the popular urban trope of the Woman Who Does Not Know Her Sports with the Out of the Mouths Of Babes one and for that reason doesn't "feel" like a realistic quote. Also, Joe Montana did start for another 2 seasons after he left San Francisco and played in another Pro Bowl (I think he also was Dave Krieg's backup for an additional season but didn't get into any games but I'm not positive about that), so if he did say what he is alleged to have said, he certainly didn't take his own advice.

Also also, he was 36 when he last took snaps for the 49ers, which is old but not massively football playery old for a quarterback. Steve DeBerg came back when he was in his mid-40s. George Blanda played until he was nearly 50. Warren Moon was a starter and fairly effective player into his late 30s and early 40s.

[snopes]

For a starting point, it should be easy to determine whether Montana was ever out of the starting lineup during his later days with the Forty-Niners due to a thumb injury.

- snopes

[Johnny Slick]

Originally Posted by snopes

For a starting point, it should be easy to determine whether Montana was ever out of the starting lineup during his later days with the Forty-Niners due to a thumb injury.

- snopes

Well... to a point. I don't know that stating that the injury that caused Montana to miss all of 1991 and in turn give up his starting gig to Steve Young was an elbow injury, not a thumb injury, really makes the UL invalid. The injury itself is a minor aspect of it, actually; as long as it's the kind of thing that would allow him to go to restaurants, it still works. I don't know what caused him to miss time in 1988; that wasn't exactly in the "later days of playing with San Francisco", however.

Of course, Bret Favre missed some time a couple years ago with a thumb injury and he is compared to Montana a lot of times. That kind of legend-swapping does make it look a little more like a myth.

[snopes]

Originally Posted by Johnny Slick

Well... to a point. I don't know that stating that the injury that caused Montana to miss all of 1991 and in turn give up his starting gig to Steve Young was an elbow injury, not a thumb injury, really makes the UL invalid. The injury itself is a minor aspect of it, actually; as long as it's the kind of thing that would allow him to go to restaurants, it still works.

It still has to be a kind of injury for which he would have been out in public with some portion of his body visibly bandaged. If he really had, say, a groin injury, it's not nearly as plausible.

- snopes

[Johnny Slick]

I'm sorry, that came out wrong. Joe Montana missed 1991 and let Steve Young take over due to an injury to the elbow of his throwing arm. The Pro Football HOF website states this, and wikipedia clarifies. Encarta accedes.