49er Dwight Clark and the Catch - One of the Greatest Sports Moments in History

January 10, 1982 was the date of one of the greatest sports moments in history known as The Catch.

The holiday season was officially over, but it was still Christmas for San Francisco 49er fans at Candlestick Park. The 49ers, with a winning season of 13-3, were hosting the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. The winner of this playoff game would go to the Super Bowl, while the loser would go home. The San Francisco bay area was burning with 49er fever. 49er fans were expecting an exciting game, but little did they know that 49er wide receiver Dwight Clark would make one of the most memorable plays in football history, The Catch.

I lived in San Jose at that time, and my then husband and I and another couple had driven the thirty miles north to San Francisco to attend the game. We were thrilled to have acquired these 49er playoff tickets from a friend who had box seats. The game was to start at 2 pm pacific time, but, being huge 49er fans, we arrived early and eagerly waited in our seats for the game to begin.

It was an incredible game. The 49ers scored first, and the crowd went wild, but the Cowboys came right back with a touchtown of their own. Both teams continued scoring during the game with the lead changing back and forth several times.

The end of the game was quickly approaching. Dallas had just scored and taken a six point lead with less than five minutes left in the game. The 49ers knew that time was running out and that they needed to score quick.

The 49ers began their last drive of the game with the ball on their own 11 yard line. They quickly advanced down the field with a combination of passing and running plays to the delight of the cheering fans.

Before long the 49ers were on the Dallas 6 yard line in a third down situation with 58 seconds left to play in the game. The play, called Red Right Tight - Sprint Right Option, was to have been a pass from 49er quarterback Joe Montana to wide receiver Freddie Solomon. But Solomon was covered by the Dallas defense. Montana, being pursued by defensive ends Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Larry Bethea, was forced to backpedal to avoid being sacked. Knowing that Dwight Clark was his secondary receiver, Montana threw the ball to the back of the end zone where he thought Clark would be. It was a high pass that looked like it might sail out of bounds. But Dwight Clark, leaping up high into the air, caught the pass with his fingertips to score the tying touchdown!

The entire stadium erupted with deafening cheers. The fans were ecstatic. Clark's teammates ran over to congratulate him with bear hugs and high fives. The instant replay on the big screen was being shown over and over again. The atmosphere was electric!

And from that moment on, Clark's leaping reception became known as The Catch.

The stadium quickly became silent as the 49er extra point unit ran out onto the field. The crowd knew that since Clark's touchdown had tied the score, the 49ers needed this extra point to win. As soon as 49er kicker Ray Wersching's kick soared between the goalposts for the winning point, the stadium exploded once again.

With only seconds left on the play clock, the Dallas Cowboy's final drive was unsuccessful and the 49ers held onto the 28-27 victory. On January 24, two weeks later, the 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl.

Over the years since The Catch, some have suggested that The Catch was simply an attempt by Joe Montana to throw the ball away and that Dwight Clark was just lucky to catch it. Both Montana and Clark have disputed this many times saying that this was a play that the 49ers practiced often. In any case, for 49er fans The Catch will always be remembered as one of the greatest sports moments in history.