CHAPTER ONE STAR QUARTERBACKS Terry Bradshaw wasn't always a great quarterback during the regular season In his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers between 1970 and 1983 the rifle-armed passer tossed 212 touchdowns but also 210 interceptions However when the games got bigger Bradshaw got better Often during his National Football League NFL career fans and media members liked to joke that Bradshaw wasn't very smart Opposing players even mocked him at times Before Super Bowl XIII in January 1979 Dallas Cowboys linebacker Thomas Hollywood Henderson said that Bradshaw couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the c and the a Bradshaw was furious He'd already won the Super Bowl twice He had been the league's Most Valuable Player MVP that season Terry Bradshaw looks to pass during Super Bowl X on January 18 1976 against the Dallas Cowboys 5
12 12 Terry Bradshaw threw for more than 300 yards in a game only seven times in his career but two of those performances came in Super Bowls 6 And he'd even beaten Henderson's Cowboys in Super Bowl X three years earlier But now he had to prove himself all over again On Pittsburgh's first drive Bradshaw hit receiver John Stallworth on a 28-yard touchdown pass Before the first half was over Bradshaw had thrown two more scores including a 75-yarder to Stallworth At the time that matched the record for the longest play in Super Bowl history
13 19 31 17 Bradshaw added a fourth touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that made the score 35 After Pittsburgh held on to win 35 Bradshaw became the first quarterback to win the Super Bowl three times He then told reporters to ask Henderson if he could spell M V P Bradshaw had just won the Super Bowl's award as well Pittsburgh won again the next season defeating the Los Angeles Rams 31 behind two more touchdown passes from Bradshaw One of them was a 73-yard strike to Stallworth with just over 12 minutes left that put the Steelers ahead for good Bradshaw never played in another Super Bowl but he had set the standard for quarterbacks on football's biggest stage JOE COOL Joe Montana had two nicknames in his NFL career One of them was Joe Cool for his calm nature The other was the Comeback Kid He lived up to both on one drive near the end of Super Bowl XXIII in January 1989. His San Francisco 49ers were trailing the Cincinnati Bengals 16 with 3:20 left The 49ers were just about to start a drive from their own 8-yard line when Montana noticed his teammates were nervous He pointed to the stands and said Look isn't that John Candy Whether or not Montana had actually spotted the famous actor and comedian didn't matter He loosened up the huddle Twelve plays later he drilled a game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver John Taylor with 34 seconds remaining 7
