Former 49ers wide receiver, Browns general manager dies
Clark revealed last year he was battling ALS.
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. — Dwight Clark will forever be remembered for one iconic moment, his leap in the back of the end zone to make a fingertip grab of a game-winning touchdown that launched the San Francisco 49ers dynasty and is one of the most indelible images in NFL history.
Clark, the author of one play simply known as “The Catch,” died Monday just more than one year after revealing he had ALS. He was 61.
“My heart is broken,” former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. said in a statement. “Today, I lost my little brother and one of my best friends. I cannot put into words how special Dwight was to me and to everyone his life touched. He was an amazing husband, father, grandfather, brother and a great friend and teammate. He showed tremendous courage and dignity in his battle with ALS and we hope there will soon be a cure for this horrendous disease.”
Clark said in March 2017 he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), which attacks cells that control muscles. He suspected playing football might have caused the illness.
Clark won two Super Bowls with the 49ers during a nineyear career that ended in 1987. He memorably pulled down the winning touchdown pass from Joe Montana in the NFC Championship game against the Dallas Cowboys following the 1981 season, a play remembered simply as “The Catch.” It’s considered one of the most significant plays in NFL history and sent the Niners to their first of five Super Bowl titles in a span of 14 seasons.
The play happened on Jan. 10, 1982, when the upstart 49ers hosted the Cowboys in the NFC title game. With the 49ers facing a third down at the Dallas 6 with less than a minute to play, coach Bill Walsh called “Sprint Right Option.”
Montana rolled out and retreated under pressure from Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Larry Bethea before lofting the ball toward the back of the end zone. Clark leaped to make a fingertip catch over Everson Walls and the 49ers went on to win the game 28-27 and then their first Super Bowl two weeks later against Cincinnati.
Clark memorably wore a fur coat to the parade.
“Start of a dynasty,” said former 49ers president Carmen Policy, who later hired Clark as general manager of the Cleveland Browns, a job he held from 1998-2002.
In attendance that day, was 4-year-old Tom Brady, who grew up cheering for the 49ers and has gone on to win five Super Bowls with New England.
“I got a chance to meet him when we happened to share the same orthodontist in San Mateo and I sabotaged one of his visits just to meet him and shake his hand,” Brady said. “He was incredibly gracious to me that day as a young boy. And I never forget the impact he made on me as all our heroes do.”
Clark joined the Niners as a 10th-round pick out of Clemson in 1979 in the same draft class that brought Joe Montana to San Francisco. He got there by good fortune after only 33 catches in three college seasons as former 49ers coach Bill Walsh needed someone to catch passes from Steve Fuller at a pre-draft workout.
Clark impressed Walsh enough to get drafted. Montana recalled that Clark left his playbook on his bed each night in case he got cut, but eventually made the team. He played on two Super Bowl winners, making two Pro Bowls and catching 506 passes for 6,750 yards and 48 touchdowns in nine seasons with San Francisco.
“We are grateful for the decades of love and friendship we shared,” Montana said in a statement with his wife, Jennifer.