>The Catch: 25 years after the play that changed football
>
>http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/16457869.htm
>
>Posted on Sun, Jan. 14, 2007
>"THE CATCH"
>STORY BY RON GREEN JR.
>
>Only 58 seconds remained in the NFC Championship game that gray, chilly
>Sunday afternoon in San Francisco when Dwight Clark prepared to leap
>into history 25 years ago.
>
>The Dallas Cowboys, at the height of their vainglorious America's Team
>period, led the 49ers 27-21 but San Francisco had a third-and-3 at the
>Cowboys' 6 with neither team aware the foundation of professional
>football in this country was about to be rocked.
>
>For Clark, in his third season as a receiver with the 49ers, fatigue
>had come over him like a Bay Area fog. He had been sick with stomach
>flu earlier in the week, missing one day of practice, but he had
>managed to catch seven passes, one for a touchdown, thrown by his
>friend and quarterback Joe Montana.
>
>Two days earlier, Clark celebrated his 25th birthday on Jan. 8. Born in
>Kinston and raised in Charlotte, Clark was becoming an unexpected star,
>a two-time Pro Bowl player.
>
>He had been a good enough player at Garinger High to earn a football
>scholarship to Clemson, but he had wound up in the NFL because a pro
>scout, evaluating Clemson quarterback Steve Fuller, took notice of the
>tall, swift guy hauling in his passes that day.
>
>Symphony of offense
>
>Needing a touchdown and extra point to earn their first Super Bowl
>trip, the 49ers had marched crisply downfield as coach Bill Walsh
>maestroed the moment from the sideline while Montana, his legend coming
>to life, supplied the music.Montana had thrown three interceptions
>before the final drive began at the San Francisco 11, but with Lenvil
>Elliott running the ball and Sumter, S.C., native Freddie Solomon and
>Clark catching passes, the 49ers were at the edge of the Dallas end
>zone.
>
>On first down from the Dallas 13, Montana had thrown an incompletion to
>Solomon in the end zone. Weak from the flu, Clark jogged off the field
>before second down and took a knee on the sideline.
>
>"I was so tired," Clark said as the season ticked down to a precious
>few seconds.
>
>He watched a sweep to the right side gain 7 yards on second down. Hal
>Wyatt, the 49ers' trainer, stood in front of Clark and shot a stream of
>water into the receiver's mouth.
>
>"Come on, we have one more play and you're going to make it," Wyatt
>told Clark.
>
>A few feet away, Clark could hear Walsh talking about "sprint right
>option" on third down.
>
>Without asking anyone, Clark jogged back onto the field for third down.
>The air, damp and cold, felt electric.
>
>In the huddle, Montana barked, "Red left slot, sprint right option."
>That put the tight end on the left side and Solomon and Clark on the
>right side of the line of scrimmage. The same play had produced a
>touchdown pass to Solomon earlier in the game.
>
>Before breaking the huddle, Montana told Solomon, "I'm looking at you."
>Then he told Clark, "Be ready."
>
>The 49ers had run the play almost daily during preseason practice. The
>idea was for Clark, the secondary receiver, to run his route near
>enough to Solomon's that it, in essence, created a traffic jam among
>the defenders, allowing Solomon the instant he needed to get open.
>
>Clark had to be careful not to "pick" Solomon's defender (which would
>draw a penalty flag), just briefly get in his way.
>
>Play rarely worked
>
>Walsh had sometimes referred to the play as a "20-yard Hail Mary"
>because, if Solomon was covered, Montana would look for Clark, whose
>route took him inside first before he drifted laterally toward the
>right corner of the end zone. If forced to find Clark, Montana had two
>strict rules to follow -- throw it high enough so only Clark (6-foot-4)
>could reach it or throw it away.
>
>The play to Clark rarely worked in practice, however, because the
>passes tended to be either too low or too high.
>
>It would work this time.
>
>At the snap, Montana rolled to his right. Clark slowed down briefly to
>engage safety Dennis Thurman, who was defending Solomon. As Solomon
>made a move, however, he slipped, allowing Thurman to recover.
>
>As Montana continued rolling right, Ed `Too Tall' Jones and Larry
>Bethea closed on him. With 6-9 Jones and the sideline both rushing at
>him, Montana threw the ball off his back foot.
>
>"I knew it was high," Montana said recently. "I thought it was above
>(Clark's head). It's like when you throw paper in the trash can you
>kind of have an idea whether you're going to hit it long or short or
>make it."
>
>Montana hit the ground about the time Clark touched the sky.
>
>Dallas defensive back Everson Walls, who had intercepted two passes,
>was a step behind Clark, who saw the ball coming.
>
>"That's high," Clark thought to himself.
>
>That's what quarterback coach Sam Wyche thought, too. On the sideline,
>he'd begun to plan the fourth-down play, a run designed to get the 3
>yards needed for a season-saving first down.
>
>Then Clark -- as if he had wings -- came down with the ball.
>
>Touchdown.
>
>It was 27-27 and Ray Wersching's extra point with 51 seconds remaining
>would be the deciding point that ended the Dallas dynasty and anointed
>the NFL's new dynasty.
>
>On the sideline, 49ers equipment manager Chico Norton ran to Montana
>and yelled, "Your buddy saved your (butt) that time. He jumped out of
>the stadium."
>
>"Get out of here," Montana said. "He can't jump that high."
>
>But Clark had reached up and plucked a measure of immortality out of
>the January chill.
>
>"I don't know if I remember actually catching the ball or I've just
>seen it so many times now that it's etched into my brain," Clark said.
>
>"Running to the sideline, that's an unbelievable moment in your life.
>You've made a play for your teammates. That's why you play, to do
>something like that then run to the sideline to celebrate."
>
>Dallas threatened in the closing seconds but a fumble killed the
>Cowboys' chances. Two weeks later, the 49ers won the first of their
>four Super Bowls, beating Cincinnati.
>
>Exactly 25 years after making "The Catch" and two days after his 50th
>birthday, Clark sat in a coffee shop in south Charlotte remembering the
>day.
>
>Wearing jeans, an untucked blue-gray shirt and work boots, Clark --
>outgoing and gracious -- looked like he could still play.
>
>He and his wife, Ashley, have three children (Casey, 22; Riley, 21;
>and, Mac, 13) and have lived in south Charlotte for more than three
>years. He grew up in east Charlotte and, after having his time in San
>Francisco and, later, Cleveland, Clark said this is home. It's where he
>wants to stay.
>
>He worked as vice president of the 49ers and, later, the Cleveland
>Browns until 2003, when he was forced out of the game after the team
>went 2-14, 3-13 and 7-9. Clark misses the camaraderie of a football
>team but not the day-to-day business of football.
>
>He's settled in Charlotte
>
>He has a development/construction business with Joe Kloiber here and
>they specialize in custom homes and remodelings. Clark plays golf,
>watches his youngest son play sports and loves the life he has today.
>
>He talks to Montana eight or 10 times a year.
>
>Occasionally, Clark will attend an autograph show where he will smile
>and sign as many Sports Illustrated covers as people bring before him.
>
>It is an iconic photo, the one of him stretching his fingertips to the
>ball. He has several dozen copies of the magazine stored away.
>
>Clark kept the pads he wore Jan. 10, 1982 and the gold helmet.
>
>He also kept the ball he caught. It's in a box in a closet.
>
>There have been questions about whether Clark has the actual ball
>because a former 49ers employee sold what he claimed was the real ball
>for $50,000 a few years ago. Clark believes he has the authentic item.
>
>When the catch happened, Clark and his teammates realized they were
>going to the Super Bowl. None of them realized it was a moment that, in
>a sense, made football time stand still.
>
>"No matter where I go, people want talk about the play," Clark said,
>holding a half-finished cup of coffee. "Dads bring their kids to
>autograph shows and they'll tell them, `This is the guy that made `The
>Catch.'
>
>"I'm just amazed by the staying power of it all."
>
>There's a word for that.
>
>Timeless.