So the organizers invited Montana and Ronnie Lott, a teammate on four San Francisco championship teams and also a first-year candidate, to be on hand for Saturday's election.

	Ronnie Lott is fifth on the NFL's career list with 63 interceptions.

It was worth the trip.

Montana and Lott were elected, along with Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, defensive tackle Howie Long and old-timer nominee Dave Wilcox.

Montana admitted he was apprehensive until the end.

"Ronnie and I were kind of nervous about coming," Montana said. "What do you do if you're here and they don't call your name? Do you carry a bus tray around?"

Montana and Lott, cornerstones on a 49ers dynasty, were easy choices for election, and paid tribute to longtime team owner Ed DeBartolo.

"Mr. D. drove us," Montana said. "If the team needed a kick in the rear end, if it wasn't Ronnie, it was Mr. D. He made it possible for us to compete.

"What it's all about is the loving and sometimes dying and striving together. To make things happen on the football field truly takes 53 players and coaches working together."

It helped when the 53 included Montana at quarterback and Lott in the secondary.

Montana never threw an interception in 122 passes over four Super Bowls. He finished his career as just the fourth passer in history to top 40,000 yards. His 3,409 completions ranked third all-time and his career passer rating of 92.3 still ranks second all-time.

He was the master of the fourth-quarter comeback, directing 31 of them for his career. Perhaps the one best remembered was the 92-yard drive that produced the winning touchdown in the final minute of the 1989 Super Bowl against Cincinnati.

"That drive was something I had done many times in my backyard," he said. "You accomplish a lot of things in your backyard. I won a bunch of Super Bowls by the time I was nine."

Lott was emotional as he talked of his relationship with Montana.

"Joe taught us how to compete in practice," he said. "If we didn't come to play, we got our butts kicked."

Both Montana and Lott said they never thought about the Hall of Fame. The defensive back, an eight-time All-Pro at cornerback, strong safety and free safety, holds the NFL postseason record with nine interceptions. He recorded 100-plus tackles five times in a 14-year career.

"I am very humble," he said. "When you have a chance to walk in the Hall of Fame, you want to get on your knees and bow."

Then he recalled meeting Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke some years ago.

"Ray said, 'You could play with me,' " he said. "People like that saying, 'You could play with us,' and you think of people who played in the NFL and you think of the best."

Hall of Famer Bill Walsh, longtime coach of the 49ers, saluted Montana and Lott.

"There's an argument that these two are the greatest at their positions ever to play," he said. "There are those who would argue that, and I'd agree."

Montana and Lott were chosen by the selection committee of 38 writers and broadcasters. Lynn Swann, wide receiver on four Pittsburgh Super Bowl champions, and defensive end Jack Youngblood of the Los Angeles Rams, finished in the final six, but did not get the 80 percent approval required for election.

Long had 84 career sacks in 13 seasons with the Raiders in Oakland and Los Angeles after playing his college ball at Villanova.

"My first practice, I knew I wasn't playing Delaware anymore," he said. "I was shocked I was drafted, shocked I made the Pro Bowl and shocked I'm here."

Rooney's family has owned the Steelers since the team was founded. His father, Art, is already in the Hall of Fame, and they join Tim Mara and Wellington Mara of the New York Giants as the only father-son honorees.

Rooney said he hoped Swann and John Stallworth, the Steelers' other wide receiver on Pittsburgh's championship teams and one of the 15 finalists who were considered, would be elected.

"I'm disappointed John and Lynn are not in yet," he said. "I would hate to think I was here in their place."

Wilcox, a linebacker with the 49ers from 1964-74, was selected for seven Pro Bowls. "It's real special, I know that," he said of his election. "I think awesome might be the word."

Also nominated this year were linebacker Harry Carson, tight end Dave Casper, defensive end Carl Eller, wide receiver James Lofton, guard Mike Munchak, offensive tackle Ron Yary and coach Marv Levy.

Players must be retired five years to be eligible for the Hall of Fame. Coaches become eligible as soon as they leave the sidelines, and administrators can still be active. Old-timer nominees must have completed 70 percent of their careers by 1975 and automatically advance to the final seven candidates.

Induction is scheduled for July 29 in Canton, Ohio.