An All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion, Clark was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, in March of 2017. To his credit, when he did catch the ball, he made it count and averaged 18.8 yards per catch. If not for a serendipitous phone call intended for former Clemson quarterback Steve Fuller, Clark's career might have been a dream. One minute into the fourth quarter, Septin kicked a 22-yard field goal that cut the scoring difference down to 1 point at 2120. 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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. 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. Iconic game-winning touchdown in 1981 NFL playoffs, 1981 NFC Championship Game: NFL Full Game, 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. He was unhappy and considered transferring to play basketball at Appalachian State University, until he was finally allowed to play offense. Is an arpeggio considered counterpoint or harmony? A big, physical target at 6-foot-4, Clark emerged as Hall of Famer Joe Montana's go-to receiver as Bill Walsh's West Coast offense reigned supreme throughout the 1980s. Storey, then a 26-year-old photographer for the San Francisco Examiner (following and preceding stints at The Chronicle), watched it all unfold from the side of the end zone. In 2021, Kroichick earned an Associated Press Sports Editors Top 10 award for his feature on Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee conquering cancer. The sportscaster thanked Dwight Clark for his time. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at strong safety, but he disliked the position and left school to go back to his hometown in Charlotte instead. 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. When Montana took the snap, the play, officially named in the 49ers playbook "Change Left Slot Sprint Right Option",[3] was intended to set up quick pass to Solomon; earlier in the game, Solomon had scored a touchdown on the same play. The fact that Clark got drafted, much less made it on the roster of an NFL team came as a surprise to many. Iooss's heart was still with Dallas. In 2016, Kroichick and photographer Michael Macor earned "Best Sports Feature" from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, for their series on Antioch High running back Najee Harris, the nation's No. There were 58 seconds left in the game and the 49ers were facing 3rd-and-3, Clark made a leaping grab in the back of the end zone leading the 49ers to a victory. But in this plane of reality, none of those things happen, and Clark does jump higher than he has any business doing. Weeks later, the 49ers drafted Clark in the 10th of 12 rounds, pairing him with their third-round quarterback from Notre Dame. Another photographer, Lee Romero, suggested Storey crop the photo vertically. It's crazy. That highlight will play again. [19] During the 1981 season, Walsh had Montana practice that part of the play back in training camp. He also won another Super Bowl in 1984. Pearson would have scored had defensive back Eric Wright not made a one-handed horse-collar tackle. [1], Montana started the drive with 89 yards to reach the end zone. But he landed a priceless shot - that's former Chronicle columnist Ray Ratto in the background, incidentally, wearing a white tie and looking mighty young - and a cool memory. The play saw Joe Montana find Dwight Clark for the game-winning touchdown in the NFC Championship Game played at Candlestick Park. In retirement, Clark expressed remorse about the end of Candlestick Park, saying that "It was a dump [but] it was our dump, so we could talk bad about it, but we didn't want anybody else to talk bad about it. Three of the Cowboys' defenders, defensive ends Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Larry Bethea and linebacker D. D. Lewis, chased a backpedalling Montana toward the sideline, and seemed certain to either send him out of bounds or sack him. [20], National Football League Players Association, "49er great Dwight Clark receiver who made The Catch dies at 61", "Dwight Clark, San Francisco 49ers receiver who made 'The Catch,' dies at 61", "One of Charlotte's greatest pro athletes has died", "Dwight Clark, 49ers receiver of The Catch, dead at 61", "Former Clemson great Dwight Clark passes", "Dwight Clark of Clemson football, 49ers fame dies from ALS", "Dwight Clark, 61, Dies; Made a Touchdown Catch for the Ages", "Illness robbed us of Dwight Clark, but not of his spirit", "49ers flashback: 1979 team was dreadful despite Walsh, Montana, O.J. Dwight Clark was never destined to be a star in the NFL, let alone make one of the greatest catches in NFL history. July 16, 1969. While the 49ers had begun the 1970s winning three consecutive NFC West titles (19701972) and losing two NFC Championship Games (1970-1971 seasons) to the Cowboys, they had spent the remainder of the decade as a losing team. I never get tired of talking about it; I never get tired of seeing it, because I sign pictures and send them to people. Dwight Clark is 6-4. Clark played his entire nine-year career with the 49ers and earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in 1982. The 49ers representative convinced Clark to skip golf and serve as Fullers receiver during the quarterbacks workout. 1. To the untrained eye, what happens in a pit box looks like chaos seven men in helmets and fire suits jumping over a short concrete wall to tend to high-powered stock cars in just a few seconds.. He caught the winning touchdown pass thrown by quarterback Joe Montana in the NFC Championship Game on January 10th, 1982 against the Dallas Cowboys. [37] Clark had a close friendship with former 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.[2] DeBartolo sent Clark to Japan in 2017 to bring back a three-month supply of the drug Radicava before it became available in the United States. Storey quickly whirled to follow the pass - he didn't change cameras, given the distance - and snapped away as the ball settled into Clark's hands. Two weekends later, the 49ers won their first Super Bowl - the first of five titles during a late 20th century dynasty. Following his sterling career on the field, Clark worked his way through San Francisco's front office, ultimately rising to general manager. -- The game will be highlighted by the unveiling of statues depicting "The Catch" outside of Levi's Stadium. In 2002, the NFL ran a series of advertisements promoting the playoffs, using famous plays as a uniting theme. 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. Dallas defense. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. Montana lines up at the five and on third down and three he rolls right, looking to throw looking to throw and he throws into the end zone Touchdown! He just hopped the Grand Avenue bus bound for Union Station. At Clemson, he wore #30, posting only 33 catches for 571 yards, 3 touchdowns and a 17.3-yard average (seventh in school history). I cannot put into words how special Dwight was to me and to everyone his life touched. [33] "I've been asked if playing football caused this," Clark wrote. With 58 seconds left in the game, the 49ers faced 3rd down and 3 yards to gain on the Cowboys' 6-yard line. This would be the final professional football game that Vin Scully would call the play by play as well as the final game that Pat Summerall did color commentary before moving to play-by-play announcer for the rest of his broadcast career (Summerall had moved from color commentator to play-by-play midway through the 1974 season; working color commentary here as a substitute for Jack Buck's regular radio partner Hank Stram; who was also Scully's main television broadcast partner during the 1981 season). There are plays that stand by themselves in sports. Storey suspected he had a good shot of The Catch, but he didn't know with certainty for several hours. . Meanwhile, the Cowboys, one of the most successful NFC teams in the 1970s with five Super Bowl appearances and two wins, never made it back to the Super Bowl in the 1980s. Because Solomon, the first option, was covered, Montana was supposed to look to Clark as his second option. The 6-foot-4. Plus, back then, that was just football. 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. Its the hamster wheel of life -- you go as fast as you can and realize at the end youre right where you began, and your kids get their own wheel and their own history. Even then, before the spate of titles, this was a transcendent moment in Bay Area sports - the 49ers had finally conquered the Cowboys. Clark was on the receiving end of the iconic game-winning touchdown -- memorialized as "The Catch" -- in the 1981 NFL Championship Game. 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. 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. What do the letters D and E above the staff represent here? What does it mean for music to be technical? Clark caught it! Marky Billson Yesterday Dwight Clark became the fourth player in San Francisco 49ers history to die from ALS. Guys would take my job. [17], In the 1981 NFC Championship game, on January 10, 1982, against the Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers trailed 2721 with 58 seconds to play. I am thankful for all of Dwights friends, teammates and 49ers fans who have sent their love during his battle with ALS. He caught 80 passes including eight touchdowns in 1980 from quarterbacks Steve DeBerg and Joe Montana. Local San Francisco radio station KCBS also provided their own broadcast, as they did for all 49ers games, with Don Klein and Wayne Walker providing the play-by-play and color respectively. Dwight Clark Has ALS The former 49er, famous for making 'The Catch,' stunned the football community Sunday when he announced he has the incurable disease. The representation of Clark, with his hands outstretched, will extend 11 feet in the air. 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. The game was broadcast nationally in the United States by CBS. How do I notate repeating changing time signatures? This is championship football. American football player and executive (1957-2018), Thailand's 'most beautiful transgender woman' and husband wear $580K in attire at extravagant wedding, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; 'We are coming,' sheriff says, U.S. court won't require FAA to make airplane seat size, spacing rules, Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh's new mugshot revealed after double life sentence, Rebel Wilson says she was banned from Disneyland for 30 days for taking a bathroom selfie, Fatal police-involved shooting in Paterson, Peoria's year of adversity turns into 4A basketball championship in win over Deer Valley. It's a touchdown for the 49ers! One is "The Catch," which happened 40 years ago on Jan. 10, 1982. In 2017, Clark shocked the sports world when he announced that he had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs Disease or ALS. The crowd erupted. Late in the fourth quarter with the game in the balance and the 49ers trailing 27-21, Montana guided San Francisco down the field. Dwight Clark: The Catch. Everyone is focusing on "The Catch," which defined the NFL of the. So Sunday is about history, made in one generation for the ones that follow. Yet the largest ripple effect of The Catch wasnt necessarily felt on the football field, but in the heart of the city of San Francisco itself. Montana rolls out of the pocket, backpedals, pump fakes, spots Clark, throws the ball and a 49ers dynasty is born. With the ball in 49ers territory after a long pass to Drew Pearson, Danny White was sacked by Lawrence Pillers and fumbled. He scored a pair of touchdowns. [36] He was the father-in-law of former NHL defenseman Peter Harrold. 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. And now we come to a catch that truly changed the game of football forever. Clark then retired after the 1987 season finished, and in 1988, the 49ers eventually retired his jersey.
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