SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark, there's something about ringing in the new year that brings good fortune. I never get tired of talking about it; I never get tired of seeing it, because I sign pictures and send them to people. It also set in motion a series of events that established the Niners as one of the NFL's dominant franchises for the better part of the two decades that followed. The Catch is listed as #17. The game was broadcast on CBS and the call was made by the great Vin Scully. On 3rd-and-3, Clark leaped and caught a 6-yard pass from quarterback Joe Montana in the back of the end zone to tie the score, and Ray Wersching's extra-point kick advanced the 49ers to Super Bowl XVI. After "The Catch", the 49ers went on to win Super Bowl XVI 2621 over the Cincinnati Bengals. I just dont think I would change anything.? Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, the play was immortalized in advertisements for Kodak film: a television commercial using a snippet of Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were" as its jingle and featuring The Catch as shown by NFL Films, and a magazine ad featuring a photo still of The Catch, accompanied by the caption, "The 49ers grab a TD and a title.". 'The Catch' at 40: 5 things to know about that 49ers-Cowboys game. Statement from @nflcommish on the passing of 49ers legend Dwight Clark pic.twitter.com/Wuaw1ceKsC, The Philadelphia Eagles converted 90% of QB sneaks this season and while the push play has been legal since 2005, no team employed it with as much dominance as the 2022 Eagles. The Cowboys did have a last chance for victory. Montana completed a 6-yard pass to Freddie Solomon to get the first down, then handed off twice to Elliot who gained eleven and seven yards respectively, but dropped a second incomplete pass on second-and-three from their own 41-yard line. Except this time Montana, sprinting right, away from dominant Cowboys pass rusher Harvey Martin, faced a decision. He was 61. The 49ers coach, Bill Walsh, assumed that it was a throw-away play and immediately began planning for the fourth down until he heard the cheers from the crowd. Dwight Clark catches the ball! Thats because Clarks discovery came about by accident. Then 49ers running back Bill Ring lost a fumble on his own 29, leading to White's 26-yard touchdown pass to Tony Hill that put the Cowboys up 107. He had two cameras, one with a 400-millimeter lens for capturing action at a distance. He led the NFL in receptions (60) during the strike-shortened 1982 season and made the Pro Bowl twice, in 1981 and 1982. He was responsible for one of the most iconic plays in NFL history that began our run of Super Bowl championships, but to me, he will always be an extension of my family. 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark delivers a go-ahead touchdown in the 1981 NFL Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, ranks No. The concept for the photo. The touchdown, of course, propelled the 49ers to a 28-27 victory over Dallas in the NFC Championship Game. Yikes. diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The sideline was crowded with people, as usual, but he found a desirable spot along one side of the north end zone - across the field from where Montana scrambled. Watch highlights of linebacker NaVorro Bowman performing at the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine. Two subsequent touchdown passes by the 49ers to win home playoff games with the team trailing and facing 3rd and 3 with less than a minute to go have also been named after The Catch: 1981 NFC Championship Game: NFL Full Game, Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 14:31, 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship, "Jim jividen: Every NFC Championship Game in San Francisco 49ers History-Part 1", "1982 San Francisco 49ers offensive playbook", "49ers finally put away Cowboys To begin their Super Bowl run", "The backstory to Walter Iooss' photo of", "New England Patriots vs. Oakland Raiders Recap", "Joe Montana on 'The Catch' statues: 'An honor to be remembered forever', "100 Greatest Plays: Numbers 5-1 | NFL 100", @NFL: "No. [11], On March 19, 2017, Clark announced that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. 10 teams that could have interest, and how much cash he could get. "We extend our condolences and prayers to Dwight's wife, Kelly, his family, friends and fans, as we join together to mourn the death of one the most beloved figures in 49ers history. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. Weeks later, the 49ers drafted Clark in the 10th of 12 rounds, pairing him with their third-round quarterback from Notre Dame. In the second quarter, San Francisco reached the Cowboys' 27-yard line, only to lose the ball when Everson Walls intercepted a pass from Montana in the end zone. 49ers quarterback Joe Montana went on to gain a reputation for his last-minute heroics, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility. Vin Scullys call, his last on footballfor CBS: "Of course for the upstart 49ers they are 6 yards from (the Super Bowl in) Pontiac (Mich.) Third and three. This article has all the answers that you need. Clark played college football at Clemson University and was selected by the 49ers in the tenth round of the 1979 NFL Draft. 2 on the "NFL 100 Greatest" ranking of the top 100 plays of all time. Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the most famous single moment in Bay Area sports history. In a moving tribute to Clark's legacy, NFL Network's Michael Silver wrote last September that the former player and executive "carried an aura of awesomeness into his post-football existence: Handsome, charming and perpetually cheerful, the man lit up a room without acting as though he owned it. He later married Ashley Stone, whom he met during the summer of 1982. How's this for an autograph gem: San Francisco 49ers legend Dwight Clark drawing up the play that was called on the famous "The Catch" in the 1981 playoffs. NFL Network broke down why WR Brandon Aiyuk and LB Dre Greenlaw are under-the-radar players to watch for in the NFC Championship Game. Speaking Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman called quarterback Jalen Hurts an "elite talent" but wouldn't dive into specifics on negations. [3][4] The play, immortalized as "The Catch", propelled the 49ers to their first Super Bowl championship. And Storey looked at the back of his camera to see if he captured the moment, right? One minute into the fourth quarter, Septin kicked a 22-yard field goal that cut the scoring difference down to 1 point at 2120. It was the second of three straight NFC title game losses for Dallas. He returned to the Examiner office, processed his film, scanned the negatives - and, yes, he had a clear and dramatic shot of Clark snatching the ball out of the air. "Theres all kinds of versions of how we had practiced it, where we practiced it, when -- everybody remembers it a little bit different," Clark told the 49ers website in 2013. Clark and Montana re-enacted The Catch in observance of the 25th anniversary of the play as part of San Francisco alumni day activities at halftime of the Minnesota game November 5, 2006, at Candlestick Park. Clark played his entire nine-year career with the 49ers and earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in 1982. In the game, momentum shifted back and forth between the two teams. Immortalized in. The San Francisco 49ers lined up in a split backs formation, with Joe Montana under center. Dwight Clark was never destined to be a star in the NFL, let alone make one of the greatest catches in NFL history. NFL+ gives you the freedom to watch LIVE out-of-market preseason games, LIVE local and primetime regular season and postseason games on your phone or tablet, the best NFL programming on-demand, and MORE! The Cowboys managed to make the playoffs in the 1983 and 1985 seasons, only to be knocked out in their first game (Wild Card round in 1983; Divisional round in 1985), then failed to reach the postseason for the rest of the decade. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. I see that catch every day. When Walsh called to arrange a workout for Fuller, Clark happened to answer the phone. Montana launched his next pass into the end zone, but missed Solomon. As a junior, he was named a starter at wide receiver and was part of the team that qualified Clemson to the Gator Bowl, its first bowl game in 18 years. The play kicked off an . Getty Dwight Clark Dwight Clark, the beloved wide receiver for the the San Francisco 49ers during the 1980s, died on Monday. The fact that Clark got drafted, much less made it on the roster of an NFL team came as a surprise to many. Following his workout, the 49ers selected Clark with the first pick of the tenth round, or 249th overall pick, in the 1979 NFL draft. In the October 16, 2001 episode "My Old Lady" of the American television sitcom/medical drama Scrubs, when a dying patient David asks if anyone has ever heard of The Catch, Turk comes in and says, "Niners-Cowboys, Joe Montana to Dwight Clark deep in the end-zone, zero time left. I am honored to be able to be a part of a play that was kind of the culmination of just this incredible surprise season. Clark played for the 49ers throughout his nine-year career. The 49ers made the playoffs eight out of the next ten seasons and won three more Super Bowls in the 1980s, becoming the NFLs best dynasty of the decade. After calling a timeout, White took the first down snap and was sacked by Lawrence Pillers, fumbling in the process. 2 on the "NFL 100 Greatest" ranking of the top . Kelly Clark. "That was Joe's genius, to throw it up there. After suffering through several losses early on in the 1981 season, the Montana-led 49ers cruised straight into the playoffs with an impressive record. Learn how your comment data is processed. A 22-year-old rookie free agent, Walls had led the NFL in interceptions that season with 11 a mark that went unmatched for 40 years until Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs did it this season. [21] He served as a team executive for the 49ers until 1998, when he resigned to become the first General Manager in the expansion era of the Cleveland Browns, after following Carmen Policy who would run the team under the ownership of Al Lerner. If not for a serendipitous phone call intended for former Clemson quarterback Steve Fuller, Clark's career might have been a dream. The 49ers defeated the New York Giants in the divisional round and then went on to verse the Cowboys in a tense rematch with lots more on the line a link directly to the Superbowl XVI. Walls and free safety Michael Downs were nearby. The argument could be made that Walls was an indispensable piece of a Cowboys defense that helped the team reach the NFC Championship that year. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. [11] After returning to the team, he was a backup wide receiver and finished with five receptions for 99 yards and a 19.8-yard average. So you just kind of shake it off. Dwight Edward Clark (January 8, 1957 June 4, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 to 1987. Plus, back then, that was just football. Reddit . This was the winning touchdown reception that meant the 49ers were bound for the Super Bowl! However, the Cowboys soon returned the favor with Danny White's interception to linebacker Bobby Leopold, and this time the 49ers converted, regaining the lead at 2117 with a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Johnny Davis. [20] They moved to Santa Cruz. All four broadcasts featured memorable calls by the announcers. "The Catch," 40 years ago this week, capped a magnificent 89-yard drive, a breathtaking 6-yard pass play, designed by coach Bill Walsh and executed spectacularly by quarterback Joe Montana and. "For almost four decades, he served as a charismatic ambassador for our team and the Bay Area. When asked about his team's success with the play, GM Howie Roseman said "All I know is everything we're doing is legal and works.". 'Zero visibility' conditions: All roads to Tahoe are closed, Horoscope for Wednesday, 3/01/23 by Christopher Renstrom, My meal at this landmark SF spot was too expensive to be so bad, One of the largest movie theaters in SF to close permanently, Report: Matthew McConaughey has a massive Salesforce paycheck, 'Really cool sight': Rare waterspout forms in Northern California, Man shot dead near San Francisco Ferry Building, A different horse': Bay Area will likely continue to see rain, 'Lady in the fridge' murder victim ID'd as Bay Area mother of 3, 'Life threatening': Tahoe braces for massive blizzard, Snow shuts down over 70 miles of I-80 in Northern California, These East Bay gems are a haven for music lovers, How to score cheap flights (and mistake fares) in 2023. Their record improved, as did Montana and Clark, in 1980, going 6-10. Here are five things you might not know about the teams, the players, the game and, yes, The Catch, from the pages of The Sporting News: TSN ARCHIVES: Swing right option dooms Dallas. Clark's got a touchdown! [11] Unheralded as a collegian playing alongside wide receiver Jerry Butler, Clark felt fortunate to get to the NFL.[12]. Clark finished the game with 8 catches for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. This meant Montana had to improvise. W&P Porter bowl review: A container that makes office 14 things you need in your car before you drive to Tahoe, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Dwight Edward Clark (January 8, 1957 - June 4, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 to 1987. [24] He would later return to North Carolina to run his real estate business. Here's NFL Network's list of everything you need to know for the 49ers Wild Card matchup vs. the Seattle Seahawks. The twin statues feature an airborne Clark leaping high into the air for a fingertip catch, just as he did for "The Catch" against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game on Jan. 10, 1982. The 49ers had another chance to score before halftime when they recovered a fumbled punt on the Dallas 42. The NFL's highest-paid players at every position: Here's who makes the most money, from QB to punter, Trade for Aaron Rodgers? This included a 45-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys earlier on in the year. To honor his contribution to 49ers, the club retired his #87 in 1988. I heard the crowd scream." That's the camera he used to track Montana as he drifted toward the opposite sideline, evaded the pass rush and eventually floated the ball toward the back of the end zone. With under a minute remaining and facing 3rd-and-3 from the Dallas 6-yard line, Montana rolled right, pump-faked, then fired to Clark, who made a leaping grab in the back of the end zone. AP Photo/Dallas Morning News, Phil Huber). Linebacker Dre Greenlaw joined 'NFL Now' ahead of the 49ers Divisional Round game vs. the Dallas Cowboys to preview the playoff matchup. How does a lady pick up a car when it's on top of her baby? Here's NFL Network's list of everything you need to know for the 49ers Week 17 matchup vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. "It was exciting," Storey said. Having taken the lead on Clarks catch and the PAT, the 49ers saw their defense snuffout a potential miracle Cowboys finish when Lawrence Pillers sacked Dallas QB Danny White, causing a fumble recovered by the Niners Jim Stuckey. San Francisco 49ers receiver Dwight Clark hauls in a six-yard touchdown pass from Joe Montana with 51 seconds left in the 1982 NFC Championship game against the Dallas Cowboys. 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