Joe Montana, Dan Marino to play in Candlestick Park finale
The last football game played in Candlestick Park will be a rematch of Super Bowl XIX.
Sort of.
Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana, 57, and Dan Marino, 52, are scheduled to take the field at the historic stadium for a flag football game, in which the San Francisco legend will lead a team of former 49ers against the Miami great and a team of All-Stars on July 12.
The 49ers play their first exhibition game at their new home, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, on Aug. 17 and host the Chicago Bears on Sept. 14 in their home opener.
Candlestick Park, which opened in 1960, served as the home of the 49ers and the San Francisco Giants until the baseball team moved to AT&T; Park in 2000.
Montana, who was named Super Bowl XIX MVP, threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns without an interception while also gutting out another 59 yards on the ground for a score, and a 38-16 victory.
Montana spent nearly his entire career with San Francisco, where he won four Super Bowls from 1979 to 1992, before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs with the rise of another future Hall of Famer, Steve Young.
Marino, in his second season in the league in 1985, passed for 318 yards with two interceptions in his only Super Bowl appearance. Though he never made it back to the big game during his 17-year career from 1983 to 1999 with the Dolphins, Marino remains the second-most prolific passer in NFL history with 61,361 total yards, behind only Brett Favre (71,838).
However, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (59,487) could catch him if Manning remains healthy this season.
Montana’s team will feature some of his former teammates, such as Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, wideout Dwight Clark and running back Roger Craig.
Marino’s team hasn’t been announced, but college football legend, USFL and NFL star Hershel Walker, 52, recently suggested he could still play in the NFL, so here’s hoping he suits up for this one.
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