'The Catch' & the Birth of a 49ers' Dynasty | 'The Timeline: A Tale of Two Cities' | NFL Network 

R.I.P Dwight Clark

Man, what a legendary play by Dwight and Montana. R.I.P Clark, you will always live on in our hearts.

RIP Dwight Clark. He just lost his battle with ALS today. He was 61. Congratulations on your hall of fame career and Rest In Peace, Dwight. You will live forever because of this catch. Thank you for changing NFL history and may the catch live on forever.

Can't believe I found this. Jan 1982 I was 22. I was in the USAF and won tickets to the game. Seats were front row, 47 yard line, right behind the cowboys. Living in the area I was for the 49ers. Right after Dwight Clark makes "The catch" they pan to the crowd. I am the guy to the right in the blk & wht plaid shirt. Very good memory!!

Man Dwight Clark’s gone..... A legend is actually gone BUT he will never be forgotten

“He WaS tHrOwInG iT aWaY” you can taste the saltiness 30 years later lol

Rest in peace Dwight Clark, legends never die. You will be missed.

“And the next play will symbolize the end of one dynasty. And the birth of another” chills down my skins

RIP Dwight Clark

Anyone else come back here after the passing of Dwight Clark? RIP 49er legend.

Bill Walsh was a genius. He was so good at designing plays that would fool the defense, that some of them are still fooled by this play from almost 40 years ago.

Truly one of the greatest moments captured in sports history.

Rest in peace, Dwight.

As one who has no dog in this fight and has seen this play many times over the past 38 years, I have two things to say: (1) Montana was not throwing the ball away. It’s clear from the film he saw Clark in the end zone and threw it as best he could to a spot Clark could catch it and not be intercepted or batted down. (2) Clark’s catch was truly a great one and not as easy as it looked. He had to not only get up high, but he had to time his jump just right because as you can see he was fully stretched out when the ball hit his hands. Those two guys hooked up over 80 times during the regular season, Montana turned out to be an all time great hall of famer, Clark was a multiple pro bowler, and both were in their mid 20’s. Luck? I don’t think so.

RIP Dwight Clark. Still one of the greatest catches of all time!

I am a hardcore Cowboys fan, and I LOVE this Joe Montana > Dwight Clark moment. They deserved that win. RIP Dwight Clark, so sad to learn of this.

I'm a Niner fan to the core, I love my team through and through. I was just a kid watching that game and I remember celebrating jumping around like crazy after that catch it amazing!! With that said I recently lost a loved one as well so my heart goes out to Mr. Clark's family. He will be missed but at least he's no longer suffering, God bless.

A truly magic moment! Best wishes to Dwight Clark who was recently diagnosed with ALS, you were and are, a hero!

RIP Vin Scully... Your voice will forever be remembered

It's obvious that Joe Montana is very intent on completing this pass.

Rest in Peace Dwight Clark. An amazing player, an amazing play. You will always be remembered

RIP Vin Scully… the voice of The Catch.

No matter how many times I see Clark come down with the ball, it sends a shiver down my spine.

That's a lot of whiny Cowboys players, "He was throwing that ball away." Uh, no, he put it where his guy, and ONLY his guy could get it. Joe was the GOAT plain and simple.

RIP Dwight Clark...a legend to be remembered

Joe Montana. My favorite football player of all time.

I came to Clemson two years after Dwight Clark had left but they were still talking about him. When I visited a few years ago with my son, then 9, we went to the practice fields and I explained the play to him. We played, I threw, he caught it. Dwight may rest in peace, happily knowing he inspired so so many people...

It's been 40 years since that game happened and the best part is the final minutes of that game.

This was so amazing, people often forget that the Cowboys came very close to winning it. The first play after the ensuing kickoff was a 31 yard pass gain to midfield that was only stopped from becoming a touchdown by a horse collar tackle, legal at the time but would ensue a 15 yard penalty at the end of the run today and would have put them well within field goal range. And the actual game-sealer was Lawrence Pillars causing a sack-fumble that Jim Stuckey recovered, on the next play (those names should be equally remembered!)

R.I.P Dwight Clark! The original catch!

Joe will ALWAYS be our hero. I'm hoping Purdy can bring us a title again. The team is loaded with talent.

Joe was not "throwing it away." He was putting it in a spot that only a catch or a non-catch could result, not an interception.

R.I.P. Dwight. You will always be my favorite 49er.

I’ve been a football fan for a very long time and this was one of the first plays that I’ve watched online that made me cry. Hearing the crowd, and the tone in the announcer’s voice just sets the atmosphere. May Dwight Clark rest in peace 🙏

My dad handed me down his Sports Illustrated cover of “The Catch” hand signed by Dwight Clark on 1/10/82. I will always cherish this when he passes on. Going to be a family heirloom

tears in my eyes

R.I.P Dwight Clark. # 87

Rest in Peace Dwight. I remember meeting you at Sierra College in Rocklin, CA during camp in 1983. Class guy and a helluva WR. Thank you for all the great memories. NINER FAN FOR LIFE!

R.I.P Dwight you left us a lot of great memories #87

After hearing about Dwight Clark’s passing. I just had to see this again. R.I.P

WIN OR LOSE 49ERS FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!! ROCK ON!!!!!!!

RIP to #87. Once of the greatest sporting moments from my youth!

I was 11 yrs old when I was watching this game, one of my earliest sports memories, saw it as it happened, WOW! RIP DWIGHT!

R.I.P #87

The lady at 0:28 sums up how Cowboys fans felt at that moment.

R.I.P Dwight Clark. Great player and class act. Thank you for the memories.

My first NFL memory. So awesome.

I'm a Cowboys fan, but that was an amazing catch. RIP Dwight Clark.

throwing the ball away? 2:11, gives you the right angle to distinguish Joe clearly saw Clark in back of end zone and lead the ball to where it had to be for the completion! too tall jones is a poor loser! give credit where it deserves!!!

My father (R.I.P.)named me after him because of that play. 5 months later May 1982 I was born. 😎👍🏿💪🏿🙏🏿💯

Being a NFL fan watching classic plays likes this still brings tears to my eyes I’m a die hard Steelers fan but I have mad Respect for 49ers Giants Raiders Hogs and Broncos 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I’m confused

Rip Dwight Clark you will be miss

greatest team, greatest quarterback, greatest coach in nfl history!!

A great moment in NFL, and 49er history. And if you're a 49er fan, and you see this, and you don't get a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye, then you're someone I don't want to know!

R.I.P Clark you will always be a legend to 49’s fans, you will be missed.

The genius of Joe Montana: under pressure, on the move, throwing against his body's momentum while staying in bounds: still has the presence of mind to execute that quick pump fake and get the pass rushers to bite just enough to get the pass off. Wild.

Rest in Power, Dwight Clark: 1/8/1957 - 6/4/2018.

RIP Dwight Clark. Thank you for catching the greatest 49ers moment from the greatest QB ever. ❤

i had just moved to the bay area in 81. did not know a lick about the rules of the game. I had only heard and read of the NFL in newspapers. as a sports nut, i had just learned the rules a few months back. one of the first memories was beating the rams on a final ray wersching FG in regular season. joe was the holder. that NFC championship was epic. it was my mom, dad, and brother watching the game (RIP to all of them). from the sofa, i leaned in closer to the TV on the floor expecting greatness but often shot down by reality as more often than not my team (in any sport) would fail. it's hard to make that final step work. but this moment sated my thirst for all those times all the teams i rooted for failed. what a moment!

RIP Dwight. Thank you for everything. #9erFaithfulForever

MONTANA WILL LIVE FOREVER

RIP Dwight. Amazing man. Amazing Catch. Amazing legacy. May you test easy big fella.

Big memories watching Joe play in the Superbowl in the late 80s, they had a special aura around them.

R.I.P. Dwight Clark!😥

"I believe he was throwing that ball away." Bitter bitter bitter. Give me the objective reason why the 49ers' intention to throw the ball away is somehow a better way to lose.

One of my favorite NFL memories!!

They never got to that progression in practice. Still make me cry. So beautiful. Glory in its finest.

Off all the angles of the catch, the view from the back of the endzone (1:46) is the best. Clark leaps into the frame from the right, as if from nowhere, to catch a ball that is seemingly heading nowhere.

RIP Dwight Clark. #HallofFamer #87

This play still gives me chills when I see it!

Thanks for the memories Dwight Clark. You are missed!!

Montana the GOAT

Wishing Dwight Clark much strength in his fight with ALS

Still get chills watching this play "It's a madhouse at Candlestick"

R.I.P...#87...The Man, The Catch" Gone but not forgotten. Made history with The Catch" that caught America's eyes against America's Team. Much Respect from a Cowbay fan...A fantastic player.

Joe to Dwight; Go run to the chevy and reach the heavens of immortality. R.I.P. Dwight.

34 years later this NEVER gets old. I was just 1 year 6 months and 2 days old when this happened

The GOAT Vin Scully with the call🐐

That play was so good even decades later the defenders are swearing he wasn’t trying to win.

Joe Montana, the true GOAT

Amazing moment in 49r history ... And I'm a Seahawks fan, respect ....

Era un niño pero recuerdo muy bien esa jugada... Siento nostalgia por esos jugadores Montana, Clark...siento nostalgia por ese niño solitario que veia futbol por la tele ...gracias NFL

As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I truly respect that throw, and that catch. 👏👏

R.I.P. Dwight 🙏🙏🙏

At the time The Catch happened I was heartbroken. I grew up in Hawaii and became a Cowboys fan because of Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett. Then I moved to San Francisco in 1982 and couldn’t help but fall in love with the team and The City. I never experienced how a sports team could galvanize a community until experiencing those great 49ers teams. #respectthatmthrfckr

What's so cool is that the photographers behind the end zone didn't realize what had happened until he hit the ground. He had run past them and they didn't see him turn around.

Kinda reminded me of Steve Largent of the Seahawks. Not to acrobatic, not to fast, but always there with sure hands.

I came here to listen to Vin

This one is for you Mr. Clark beautiful catch right after a beautiful throw by Mr. Montana!!! Today Mr. Clark you graduated to the big leagues up in the Sky. May you forever rest in peace and know the many blessings that you have earned here on this Earth. May God bless and comfort your family but also have the peace that comforteth and passeth all of human understanding. Thank you for being a part of one of the greatest teams ever and for being so faithful to the 49'rs!!!!

How F****n awesome was that. I can remember watching it like yesterday Joe was. Is. And will forever be my favourite qb. Just simply brilliant.

Joe is the GoAT🐐

I remember watching all the 49ers games in those years. People need to remember that this was just one catch that Montana threw to Clark. They made plays like this hundreds of times! I remember one game when the 49ers were down with something like 50 seconds to go. Montana moved the team from the 20 yard line downfield by throwing short passes to the receivers who quickly went OOB. They scored within that 50 seconds to win the game. This was happening all the time in many games. Montana, Rice, Clark and defensively Ronnie Lott, all Hall of Fame players.

Great memory. Went from being a Cowboys hater to a lifetime 49ers fan. thank-you, Joe. Thank-you and RIP, Dwight

Montana the greatest football player of all time

His was the first jersey I wore when I was a kid. Class act all the way. He will never be forgotten.

I WAS AT THAT GAME...MY DAD ALWAYS HAD TICKETS..LUV YOU POP RIP...GREATEST GAME I HAVE EVER BEEN TOO...

Joe Montana the GOAT

40 Years Ago Today!

RIP Clark. Happy Birthday to the Catch and Happy Birthday to me. What a blessing to experience a same birthday as this wonderful catch that means so much to my favorite team. Lets get the sixth boys.

Super Fun Fact: Tom Brady was 4 years old and in attendance with his father Tom Brady Sr. at this game. His father was a season ticket holder for the 49ers for 25yrs and took his son regularly to Candlestick Park to watch Montana & there Niners play football. Tom Brady is a Bay Area native, born & raised. He was a die-hard 49ers fan growing up and really looked up to Joe Montana growing up as a kid. When the 2000 NFL draft pick came along the 49ers needed a QB. Tom Brady was in high hopes & almost positive they were going to draft him. Well they didn't, they drafted Giovanni Carmazzi in the 3rd round instead and Tom Brady fell to the end of the draft list and was the 199th pick, chosen by New England at the bottom of the sixth round after six quarterbacks were selected. The 49ers have regretted that mistake for the past 2 decades because Giovanni Carmazzi couldn't handle the pressure and didn't snap the ball for not even 1 regular season game and the legend Tom Brady went on to win 7 Superbowl Championships and 9 Super appearances and still counting. Point being, the fuel that fired up Tom Brady to be the greatest QB in the history of the NFL was the decision of him not being drafted by his childhood team which he took personal !!