How different would the history of the San Francisco 49ers been had Joe Montana taken the advice of a Hollywood star?
The Pro Football Hall of Famer said recently that during the prime of his legendary career he was approached about the possibility of playing in the Canadian Football League.
John Candy, a huge star in Hollywood at the time, contacted Montana several times while attempting to get him to leave the 49ers for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.
Montana told the San Francisco Chronicle that he knew Candy and said, "John Candy was trying to get me to go play in Canada."
Candy, who died of a heart attack at age 43 in 1994, was a huge fan of the Argonauts, he ended up buying part of the franchise in 1991 with Bruce McNall, an honor of the LA Kings at the time.
Montana decided against heading north of the boarder, despite having issues with the San Francisco front office. He won four championships and was a three-time Super Bowl MVP during his career with the 49ers, before playing two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Montana has often told the tale of pointing to John Candy in the stands during a TV timeout in Super Bowl XXIII, as a way to calm his teammates down before leading the 49ers on a last-minute drive to beat Boomer Esiason's Bengals for the championship.
Now we know the rest of the story.
