NFL
The Legend Of Dwight Clark – The Legacy Continues
Monday was a sad day for fans of the 49ers and of football, as the game lost a legend. Former receiver Dwight Clark passed away after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative disease that has no known cure. While those who knew him personally knew him as a good man, a loving husband, and a caring father. Also, the fans of the 49ers knew him in a different way. As a player, Clark embodied a rise from humble beginnings to greatness, culminating in his role in one of the most iconic plays in NFL history.
Clark’s Unlikely Start
After playing football and basketball at Garinger High School in North Carolina, Clark hoped to pursue basketball as a college athlete. At 6’4″, he was unable to play the forward position he was best suited for, so he pursued football at Clemson University instead. Though he played quarterback in high school, he tried playing safety in college before settling in at receiver. Clark’s career at Clemson brought him great team success: The Tigers finished 11-1 in his senior year and beat Ohio State in the Gator Bowl. Unfortunately, it did not bring him much success as an individual. He finished with only 33 catches and three touchdowns in three years, with 11 of those receptions coming as a senior.
Clark likely would have gone undrafted had a twist of fate not brought him into contact with 49ers head coach Bill Walsh. Clemson quarterback Steve Fuller, a top draft prospect, had a workout with the 49ers. Fuller threw to Clark as he attempted to demonstrate his passing prowess to Walsh. Walsh came away impressed, but not with the quarterback: he drafted Dwight Clark in the 10th round of the 1979 NFL Draft.
The Catch
Clark contributed as a rookie but didn’t become a regular starter until his second year, when he impressed with 991 yards and 8 touchdowns. He broke out in his third year, earning his first Pro Bowl nod after totaling 1,105 yards and 4 touchdowns in the regular season. However, the real heroics came in the post-season. However, after a 6-10 season in 1980, the ’81 Niners had won 13 regular season games. The Niners defeated the New York Giants in the Divisional Round 38-24. Nevertheless, they then faced their greatest challenge. Tom Landry’s 12-4 Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers’ arch-rival, loomed in the NFC Championship.
The game was close throughout, and with 59 seconds left to play the Cowboys led 27-21. It was 3rd down, and the Niners had the ball on the Cowboys’ six-yard line. Joe Montana took the snap and rolled right, and Freddie Solomon, Montana’s first read on the play, slipped. Backpedaling with three defenders bearing down on him, Montana lofted the ball high towards the back of the end zone. The ball seemed destined to fall incomplete. But Dwight Clark, leaping high in the air, simultaneously secured the game-winning touchdown and a spot in 49ers history. The Niners went on to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals and claim their first Lombardi Trophy. The dynasty that followed in the next decade cemented the status of “The Catch” and the player that made it as football icons.
Clark’s Legacy
Though I was not alive during a single game in which Dwight Clark played, I still grew up hearing stories about him. Watching video of “The Catch” on repeat was as much a part of my initiation as a 49ers fan as watching the highlights of Hall of Famers like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. My father would often tell the story of one of his favorite sports memories. He (also a 49ers fan) was watching that NFC Championship game with his best friend, an avid Cowboys fan. When Clark made his famous play, my father was elated and his friend locked himself in his room and cried. The emotional reactions show that even at the moment the impact could be felt: it was a changing of the guard. The play symbolized the 49ers’ ascent to the top of the NFC, replacing the Cowboys and ending their run of dominance.
The 49ers franchise has long appreciated what Clark meant to the team’s fans. He is a member of the 49ers Hall of Fame while retiring his number, 87. Upon the news of his passing, there was an outpouring of support from many current and former players and coaches including Keena Turner, Roger Craig, Tom Brady, Chris Collinsworth, and Kyle Shanahan. These men, along with the fans of the franchise he meant so much to, will forever remember Clark and the impact he had on the 49ers and the game of football.
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This article was originally written by former TSJ101SPORTS writer
