Presented is a beautiful offering, a silver cake cutter with a Mother of Pearl handle that was gifted to Joe Montana from Notre Dame coach Dan Devine. Legendary Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian retired in December of 1974 because of health reasons, and Dan Devine was hired to replace Parseghian. Devine observed Joe Montana's quarterback work in '75 spring practice, and Devine told his wife that Joe Montana was going to become the next Fighting Irish starting quarterback. Devine's wife asked her husband, "Joe who?" And Devine replied, "He's the guy who's going to be feeding our family for the next few years." Although Montana played mainly a backup role in '75, and he was out all of the 1976 season with a separated shoulder, Devine's family ate very well in 1977 as Montana became not just the starter, but a national star as he led Notre Dame to an 11-1 record and the Associated Press National title. In '78, Montana continued his terrific play, with the highlight being that year's famous "Chicken Soup Game." At halftime of the Cotton Bowl game against Houston, Montana experienced hypothermia, and he was treated with warm blankets and chicken soup. He returned to the game in the third quarter, and then in the last eight minutes of the game, he led the Fighting Irish to three touchdowns in a great comeback that ended in a last-second 35-34 victory. Of course, in the professional ranks, Montana continued his magic, and in a 16-year Pro Football Hall of Fame career, mostly with the San Francisco 49ers, Montana won four Super Bowls and was a 3-time Super Bowl MVP and a 2-time NFL MVP. The offered, gorgeous silver Mother of Pearl handled cake cutter is 10.75" long and has a blade width that varies in an attractive design and averages about 1.75" across. The Mother of Pearl handle portion of the cake cutter is 3.75" long. The gift was a wedding present, and it is engraved as, "To Cass & Joe/Love Jo and Dan Devine." In the hit movie about a Notre Dame walk-on who perseveres and overcomes all odds to actually play in a game for the Irish, Dan Devine was portrayed as rather insensitive towards Rudy, and Devine was reportedly hurt by the fictionalized depiction of his character, as the movie took poetic license to make Devine a foil to Rudy, when in reality, Devine gave Rudy a chance, and was popular with his players. The offered gift shows the actual friendliness of Dan Devine, and his gratitude to Montana, because not only did Devine give Rudy a chance as an inspirational walk-on, but Devine was smart enough to realize Joe Montana's potential and work with Montana for years to bring that potential to fruition. The cake cutter comes with its cloth case, has great eye appeal, and is in excellent condition.

The Joe Montana Former Wife Collection: Lots 1300-1311 in the current auction are pieces consigned by Joe Montana's former wife, Cass Ho. Each piece originates from Joe's collection and is being offered to the public for the first time. Items include signed checks from his rookie year, Notre Dame jersey presented to him by his coach and numerous personal items.