Dwight Clark
His gravity-defying fingertip catch in the 1981 NFC Championship game launched the San Francisco 49ers dynasty and became an enduring NFL image.
1957–2018 (age 61)·American football player and executive·Birthday: January 8·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dwight Clark was a wide receiver whose career is defined by a single, miraculous moment. Drafted in the tenth round out of Clemson in 1979, he was initially seen as a long shot. His connection with quarterback Joe Montana, however, became the soul of the 49ers' emerging offense. The play known simply as 'The Catch'—Clark's leaping grab in the back of the end zone to beat the Dallas Cowboys—sent San Francisco to its first Super Bowl and signaled a seismic shift in the league's power structure. More than a clutch player, Clark was a consistent and reliable target, a two-time Pro Bowler who helped secure two championships. His later work as a front-office executive for the 49ers and Cleveland Browns was overshadowed by his playing legacy, a legacy cemented by that one iconic snapshot of athletic poetry. His later years were marked by a public battle with ALS, which he believed was linked to his football career.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dwight was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dwight Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Dwight's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2018Died at 61
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
Key Achievements
- Made the game-winning touchdown reception known as 'The Catch' in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, propelling the 49ers to Super Bowl XVI.
- Won two Super Bowl rings (XVI and XIX) as a key receiver for the San Francisco 49ers.
- Earned Pro Bowl selections in 1981 and 1982, leading the NFL in receptions in 1982.
- Served as General Manager of the San Francisco 49ers from 1995 to 1998, helping build a Super Bowl XXXIX team.
- Had his jersey number 87 retired by the San Francisco 49ers in 1988.
Did You Know?
He was famously drafted in the 10th round, the 249th overall pick, in 1979.
The famous 'Catch' play was actually a broken assignment; Montana was throwing the ball away to avoid a sack.
He and quarterback Joe Montana opened a chain of restaurants called 'Montana's Grill' after their playing careers.
He was diagnosed with ALS in 2015 and became an advocate for research into the disease's connection to football.
He caught the final touchdown pass of Joe Montana's 49ers career in the 1990 NFC Championship game.
“I jumped as high as I could, and it stuck right in my hand. I still don't know how I caught it.”
