In his senior season in 1978, the Tigers were 111, won the Gator Bowl over Ohio State, and finished sixth in the final AP poll. The Catch. Today, I lost my little brother and one of my best friends. One minute into the fourth quarter, Septin kicked a 22-yard field goal that cut the scoring difference down to 1 point at 2120. And now we come to a catch that truly changed the game of football forever. His senior season, he hauled in an amazingly few number of receptions at 11. CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 100 Dwight Clark The Catch Premium High Res Photos Browse 100 dwight clark the catch stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Initially serving Cajun food, it later switched to prime rib and seafood. Thats because Clark was never a featured receiver at Clemson. The NFL's highest-paid players at every position: Here's who makes the most money, from QB to punter, Trade for Aaron Rodgers? The Catch is listed as #17. 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark delivers a go-ahead touchdown in the 1981 NFL Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, ranks No. Watch highlights of linebacker NaVorro Bowman performing at the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. Then Walls recovered a fumble from running back Walt Easley at midfield to set up White's 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Doug Cosbie, giving Dallas a 2721 advantage. After a couple of early-season losses in 1981, San Francisco, with Montana in charge, cruised into the playoffs with a 13-3 record, which included a 45-14 thumping of the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the year. Plus, back then, that was just football. You get dinged and you go back in or you stay in.. Despite occurring over 40 years ago, the game-winning touchdown play remains one of the most impressive NFL moves in the history of the sport. Throughout the game, player momentum shifted equally between the two teams. Clark died on Monday, aged 61. 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! Dwight Clark catches the ball! This dramatic win was the crown jewel of a memorable postseason in the NFL. That era-defining play shifted the balance of power in the NFC, ending the hegemony of the 1970s Cowboys and launching the 49ers' dynasty of the 1980s. 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. He said he suspected numerous concussions during his playing days contributed to his disease. Clark had plans to play a round of golf and was headed out to play when he answered the phone. Kelly Clark. 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 Clark, to make the 49ers NFC champions on Jan. 10, 1982, at Candlestick Park. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. When Walsh called to arrange a workout for Fuller, Clark happened to answer the phone. Another photographer, Lee Romero, suggested Storey crop the photo vertically. 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. After San Francisco forced Dallas to punt on the opening drive, quarterback Joe Montana completed a 17-yard pass to Charle Young and a 24-yarder to Lenvil Elliott before throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Freddie Solomon. Two weeks later, they beat Cincinnati to win their first Super Bowl title and launch an incomparable stretch of five championships in 14 seasons. With Brock Purdy and Trey Lance coming off injuries, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch didn't rule out adding a veteran signal-caller this offseason. He had two cameras, one with a 400-millimeter lens for capturing action at a distance. 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. So you just kind of shake it off. I see that catch every day. Because Solomon, the first option, was covered, Montana was supposed to look to Clark as his second option. In the entire franchise history of the NFL, only Dwight Clarks reception is commonly referred to as The Catch.. On June 4, 2018, Dwight Clark died from the disease. [1] [2] He was a member of San Francisco's first two Super Bowl championship teams. He joined Comcast SportsNet Bay Area in 2011 as an analyst for 49ers Postgame Live. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Wrote Gergen in The Sporting News: Solomon broke for the flag but was covered. "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. He was 61 years old. In a game where the lead shifted back and forth repeatedly, the 49ers took over the ball at their own 11-yard line . The San Francisco 49ers selected Clark with the first pick of the tenth round (249th overall) of the 1979 NFL Draft, even though some people in the organization questioned the selection at the time, considering he was seen as an undrafted free agent. 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' at 40: 5 things to know about that 49ers-Cowboys game. Here's NFL Network's list of everything you need to know for the 49ers Week 15 matchup vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Montana confirmed that he could not see the end zone through the defenders, but claims that he knew exactly where Clark would be. With 58 seconds left in the game, the 49ers faced 3rd down and 3 yards to gain on the Cowboys' 6-yard line. After forcing a Dallas punt, Montana threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Clark to retake the lead, 1410. Former San Francisco 49ers receiver Dwight Clark died on Monday after a long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Receiver Dwight Clark makes "The Catch" on a pass from Joe Montana that tied the game late in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys in the 1982 NFC championship game. On August 5, 2007, The Best Damn Sports Show Period did a special show commemorating the top 50 amazing sports catches of all time. Kroichick writes features on the Warriors during the NBA season, and various other topics - ranging from the 49ers/NFL and major-league baseball to college football and basketball - the rest of the year. Thats because Clarks discovery came about by accident. The 49ers representative convinced Clark to skip golf and serve as Fullers receiver during the quarterbacks workout. [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. [32] He stated that he believed he developed ALS as a result of playing football; he suffered three concussions during his playing career. The San Francisco 49ers defense is the Nickelodeon MVP of Week 13, 2022. Dwight Clark leaves a Dallas defender in his dust after making. A photograph of the catch by Walter Iooss, Jr., with Clark at the height of his leap and Everson Walls reaching out to try to block the ball, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week.[5]. The Bengals, who were 6-10 in 1980 and beat them to the honor by about four hours, defeating San Diego Chargers, 27-7, in the AFC Championship. I just dont think I would change anything.? Clark played his entire nine-year career with the 49ers and earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in 1982. He was a member of two Super Bowl-winning teams (XVI and XIX). Former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator and current Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was named the AP Assistant Coach of the Year award. "That was Joe's genius, to throw it up there. The San Francisco 49ers lined up in a split backs formation, with Joe Montana under center. Touchdown! After the workout finished, Walsh was impressed with Clarks ability. Clark already had plans to play a round of golf and was about to head out to begin his game when he picked up the phone instead. [11], On March 19, 2017, Clark announced that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It's great to give 49er fans that moment that they can relive over and over and over, and I know they do because when I am in San Francisco and a lot of places, people want to talk about that play and how it crushed the Cowboys and sent them into submission for a decade. And, in fact, it was the Cowboys who made the final, fatal mistake. Elliot then set up a third-and-four with a six-yard run. The 19921994 seasons would see the Cowboys and 49ers face off in three straight NFC Championship games, with the Cowboys winning the first two and the 49ers winning the last one; each victorious team following it up with a Super Bowl title. The offense certainly took some pressure off my back., "Some people might call it a mistake-filled game, Walsh said afterward. Montana threw the ball to a location where only Clark could reach it; if he missed the catch it would have sailed harmlessly out of bounds. This meant Montana had to improvise. 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. In the second quarter, Clark caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Montana that gave the 49ers a 14-10 lead. [1][2] He was a member of San Francisco's first two Super Bowl championship teams. Its the same play Niners QB coach Sam Wyche called from the coaches booth on third and 3 from the Cowboys 6 with 58 seconds to play. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. The touchdown, of course, propelled the 49ers to a 28-27 victory over Dallas in the NFC Championship Game. [7][8] Clark talked about how he was nervous playing quarterback in high school. All the TV and radio calls you can handle from Harper, Stott clutch homers on Sunday, Shooters Radio: ECW One Night Stand 05 deep dive. He showed tremendous courage and dignity in his battle with ALS and we hope there will soon be a cure for this horrendous disease. Touchdown! Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the most famous single moment in Bay Area sports history. What was Clark's cause of death? Clark disputes that assertion, claiming that it was a backup plan that they practiced many times. "I don't know for sure. Wide receiver Freddie Solomon was lined up in the right slot, while Dwight Clark was outside of Solomon, wide to the right. Late on in the fourth quarter with the game hanging in the balance and the 49ers trailing with 27-21, Montana swiftly guided the 49ers down the entire field. 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. In 2002, the NFL ran a series of advertisements promoting the playoffs, using famous plays as a uniting theme. There are plays that stand by themselves in sports. Montana was was running out of room on the sideline. The Catch was the reason for a resurgence in visitors to the city after a tough couple of years caused by lots of negative press coverage. Except this time Montana, sprinting right, away from dominant Cowboys pass rusher Harvey Martin, faced a decision. Photo by John Storey/ San Francisco Examiner/Bancroft Library. In the following season, the Cowboys reached their third straight NFC Championship Game, where they were defeated 3117 by their archrival Washington Redskins. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. I may sit and think about that moment couple of times a year, and how awesome it was to be a part of that play and to be a part of the 49ers in the '80s. I'll be at an autograph thing, there'll be a 10-year old kid saying, "You're The Catch. Montana was flushed from the pocket, and as he faded backward and was hit, he lofted a high pass to Clark in hopes he could come down with it. 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. To his credit, when he did catch the ball, he made it count and averaged 18.8 yards per catch. But just then I saw Dwight getting away from the coverage.". 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. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw joined 'NFL Now' ahead of the 49ers Divisional Round game vs. the Dallas Cowboys to preview the playoff matchup. He was Executive Vice President and Director of Football Operations from 1999 to 2001. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 14:31. We won't call this on fourth down. Here's NFL Network's list of everything you need to know for the 49ers Wild Card matchup vs. the Seattle Seahawks. 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. Things got even better for Dallas when Walls recorded his second interception from Montana on the next drive at the Cowboys 27. But don't throw it low, don't throw an interception. Caught! According to Clark, Jones reacted to the play by stating "You just beat America's Team" to Montana after the pass was caught, to which Montana replied, "Well, you can sit at home with the rest of America and watch the Super Bowl."[6]. [36] He was the father-in-law of former NHL defenseman Peter Harrold. What Clark displayed during the workout was something the 49ers and no other team had seen on tape. San Francisco 49ers third round draft selection BYU linebacker Fred Warner goes through drills at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine. Late in the fourth quarter with the game in the balance and the 49ers trailing 27-21, Montana guided San Francisco down the field. I had the flu last week and I had trouble getting my breath on that last drive. 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. 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. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. In 2021, Kroichick earned an Associated Press Sports Editors Top 10 award for his feature on Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee conquering cancer. 64: 2011 NFC Divisional Playoff - Saints vs. 49ers "The Catch III" (Jan. 14, 2012) #NFL100 @49ers @VernonDavis85 Television: NFL 100 Greatest Games on @NFLNetwork, "TD could become 'The Catch III' in 49ers lore", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Catch_(American_football)&oldid=1142103148. Cajun food, it was the father-in-law of former NHL defenseman Peter Harrold (. 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