Editor's Note: Joe Montana wrote an essay about his long-time friend and 49ers teammate Dwight Clark for the book, “Letters to 87,” which has raised money for the Golden Heart Fund. Clark passed away on June 4, 2018, after a two-year battle with ALS. The 49ers celebrate the legacy of Clark, whose No. 87 is retired, annually on Aug. 7 or 8/7. Montana’s essay is reprinted here with permission from Cameron Books.
We didn’t think about it in the moment. We didn’t realize how important it was at the time. All we knew was that we were going to the Super Bowl.
At that point, we were looking forward to going to our first Super Bowl. We weren’t looking back. But after the season was over, and we won Super Bowl XVI, people started talking about The Catch and how important it was to get us past the Cowboys.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
What everyone loved about Dwight was his personality. Even if he had not caught that pass, his personality would not have changed. He was the same jovial guy before The Catch as he was after.
We came to the 49ers together in the 1979 draft. Dwight was an easy guy to like. We spent a lot of time working together before and after practice. The bond kept building that way, as we laughed and joked with each other.
We lived together in the beginning and ended up getting a place in Hayward on C Street. It was the only place we could afford. We drove back and forth every day across the Bay to practice in Redwood City. After practice our car just automatically went straight to Wendy’s. We ate together and did everything together.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
To a certain degree, we built chemistry on the field. But he was the kind of receiver that was perfect for any quarterback. He was a big target and could read defenses well. We had a lot of adjustments in that offense that had to be made after the play started. I knew where he was going to be. As a quarterback, you need people you can trust to be on the same page. If he and I weren’t on the same page 100 percent of the time, we were 99.9 percent of the time. And when things broke down, he was always looking for me. He would come back and try to help in any way he could.
DC was the ultimate teammate. This is a guy who played in college across from Jerry Butler, one of the top receivers in the nation at the time. Dwight never said a word. Then, after we won a couple of Super Bowls, here comes John Taylor and Jerry Rice. That was a difficult transition from where he had been. He always put the team first. I’m sure one of the first things that came to his mind was, “It feels like I’m back at Clemson, playing behind an All-American.” But if he thought it, he did not say anything -- not even to me.
Dwight’s place in 49ers history was secure after making The Catch. On that play against the Cowboys, we had never thrown the ball to Dwight. It was basically his job to set a screen for Freddie Solomon, the inside receiver. But Freddie slipped and fell. Dwight had to get to the end line and come across the back side. For me, it was just a matter of buying time until he got to where he needed to be.
He had good position on the defensive back Everson Walls, so I let the ball go. I thought it was arm’s length above his head. I didn’t know it was that high. I got knocked down and never saw it. But when he made The Catch, I heard the crowd roar. I thought, “Okay, touchdown, we scored.” I did not realize until later how great of a play it was.
As the years moved on, Dwight totally understood how important that play was to all 49er fans, players, and everyone associated with the team. It was great for him. It was something that enabled him to connect with fans on a personal level. He could look back on that play with great pride. It was a wonderful memory to be a part of something so important, not only in 49er history but NFL history.
Every time you see something on memorable and important moments in NFL history, that play gets shown.
But Dwight also realized that it took the entire team. If Eric Wright does not make that tackle, and if Lawrence Pillers does not force that fumble, that play does not mean anything. Dwight never lost sight of that.
On Oct. 21, 2018, the 49ers unveiled statues of Dwight and me outside of Levi’s Stadium that depict The Catch. Sadly, my old friend was not around to take part in the ceremony.
He would have loved it. He would have been the ultimate kid, acting like a typical hard-core 49ers fan. That would have been Dwight. He would have had the best time in front of that statue, just soaking up the moment.
Seeing the statues for the first time was a humbling experience. You realize the importance of the moment that will always connect us.
* * *
NBC Sports Bay Area will re-air the documentary “Letters to 87” on Friday at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Steve Young, Keena Turner, Mike Wilson and Jeff Clark, Dwight’s brother, will join Matt Maiocco at 2 p.m. on Friday to discuss D.C.’s legacy on a video conference. Click here at 2 p.m. to join.