Charlotte Observer
Sun., Jan. 14, 2007
by RON GREEN JR.
• Slideshow
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.
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