When you have a list of accomplishments that reads like a book, you get a town named after you. That’s what happened with 4-time Super Bowl champion, Joe Montana. Back in the ’90s, when Joe Cool played for the Chiefs, the town of Ismay, Montana, changed its name to ‘Joe, Montana.’
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But only briefly. One could be forgiven for not remembering that Joe Cool played for the Chiefs back then. After all, he didn’t make much of an impact. He revealed on the Arrowhead Addict show:
“We actually flew anyone who wanted to come down from the town into one of the games. We didn’t get a full house but we got a few handful of people that decided to come so that was fun. I think they changed it back after we lost.”
The town of just 19 people had changed its name for him in 1993. He and the Chiefs then facilitated a flight for natives of that town to come to Kansas City to watch the franchise play.
However, after their playoff loss to Miami in his final season, the town dropped the name and changed it back to Ismay.
Joe Cool arrived in Kansas City with an impressive pedigree, boasting four Super Bowl titles to his name. However, he was unable to make the same impact as he had done in San Francisco.
Another thing was different about Montana in Kansas. Montana had worn the iconic number 16 during his 14-year stay in San Francisco, which the Niners eventually retired. But when he signed with the Chiefs, he opted for a different jersey number.
Joe Montana explains why he chose the #19 jersey
As a marquee addition, the Chiefs gave Montana the option to choose from three jersey numbers: 3, 16, and 19. While 16 seemed like the obvious choice, he opted for 19 instead.
During the same segment of the show, Montana explained that he chose 19 because it was the number he wore growing up in Pop Warner football. Additionally, the Chiefs had already retired the iconic #16 in honor of franchise legend Len Dawson. With that, picking #19 was an easy decision for the four-time Super Bowl champion.
“The reason I picked 19 was actually the number I wore at Pop Warner growing up. I have a picture of me in a red and white sort of like the Chiefs in a 19 so that’s why I went with that. Also, Lenny’s number was retired so it made it easy decisions.”
Joe retired in 1994 after 16 seasons, with 4 Lombardi Trophies to his name. He won two consecutive Super Bowls in 1988 and 1989 but couldn’t do a three-peat because of an injury in the NFC Game.
The Chiefs, like the 49ers, are now looking to achieve a three-peat. If Patrick Mahomes takes the team from here and wins another Super Bowl, not only will script his name in history as the only QB to do a three-peat but he will also equal Montana’s record of 4 Lombardi Trophies.
