Page 23 - ARUBA TODAY

A23
SPORTS Wednesday 6 June 2018
DWIGHT CLARK It's considered one of the seemed to handle it in his bed each night in case
Continued from Page 18 most significant plays in NFL stride and the two of them, he got cut, but eventually
I cannot put into words history and sent the Niners The Butch Cassidy and the made the team. He played
how special Dwight was to to their first of five Super Sundance Kid, they used on two Super Bowl winners,
me and to everyone his life Bowl titles in a span of 14 to have fun playing off of making two Pro Bowls and
touched. He was an amaz- seasons. each other, or who would catching 506 passes for
ing husband, father, grand- The play happened on take the credit, and this 6,750 yards and 48 touch-
father, brother and a great Jan. 10, 1982, when the up- and that and so forth. But it downs in nine seasons with
friend and teammate. He start 49ers hosted the Cow- was a special day." San Francisco.
showed tremendous cour- boys in the NFC title game. In attendance that day, "We are grateful for the de-
age and dignity in his bat- With the 49ers facing a third was 4-year-old Tom Brady, cades of love and friend-
tle with ALS and we hope down at the Dallas 6 with who grew up cheering for ship we shared," Montana
there will soon be a cure for less than a minute to play, the 49ers and has gone on said in a statement with
this horrendous disease. coach Bill Walsh called to win five Super Bowls with his wife, Jennifer. "We are
"I will always remember "Sprint Right Option." New England. In this Dec. 20, 2015, file photo, praying for Dwight, his fam-
Dwight the way he was Montana rolled out and "I got a chance to meet former San Francisco 49ers ily and for all your prayers
— larger than life, hand- retreated under pressure him when we happened wide receiver Dwight Clark also. We will miss you
some, charismatic and the from Ed "Too Tall" Jones and to share the same ortho- looks on during halftime of an dearly!"Clark made his last
only one who could pull off Larry Bethea before lofting dontist in San Mateo and I NFL football game between public appearance in Oc-
the 49ers and the Cincinnati
wearing a fur coat at our the ball toward the back of sabotaged one of his visits Bengals in Santa Clara, Calif. tober when the 49ers host-
Super Bowl parade. He was the end zone. Clark leaped just to meet him and shake Associated Press ed "Dwight Clark Day" at
responsible for one of the to make a fingertip catch his hand," Brady said. Levi's Stadium. Clark spoke
most iconic plays in NFL his- over Everson Walls and the "He was incredibly gracious the same draft class that to the crowd from a suite
tory that began our run of 49ers went on to win the to me that day as a young brought Joe Montana to that afternoon in a weak-
Super Bowl championships, game 28-27 and then their boy. And I never forget the San Francisco. He got there ened voice, calling his dis-
but to me, he will always be first Super Bowl two weeks impact he made on me as by good fortune after only ease a "little thing" he was
an extension of my family. later against Cincinnati. all our heroes do. I am sad 33 catches in three college dealing with at the time. He
I love him and will miss him Clark memorably wore a tonight hearing of his pass- seasons as former 49ers also thanked the fans and
terribly." fur coat to the parade. ing of ALS, but I know he is coach Bill Walsh needed dozens of teammates who
Clark said in March 2017 "Start of a dynasty," said now resting and at peace someone to catch passes came back for the event.
that he had amyotrophic former 49ers president Car- finally after many years val- from Steve Fuller at a pre- "He will forever live on
lateral sclerosis (Lou Geh- men Policy, who later hired iantly fighting such a ter- draft workout. in our memories for 'The
rig's disease), which attacks Clark as general manager rible disease." Clark impressed Walsh Catch' but also for his kind,
cells that control muscles. of the Cleveland Browns. Clark joined the Nin- enough to get drafted. gentle and courageous
He suspected playing foot- "I don't let myself go down ers as a 10th-round pick Montana recalled that spirit," commissioner Roger
ball might have caused the the road of what would out of Clemson in 1979 in Clark left his playbook on Goodell said.q
illness. have happened if he
The team said he died doesn't make that catch?
Monday surrounded by As Joe Montana says, what
friends and family. would have happened if I
DeBartolo recently host- didn't throw that pinpoint
ed a reunion in Montana pass perfectly angled to
where many of Clark's for- be in the only spot where
mer teammates came for he should catch and no
one final goodbye. one else would be able to
"It was beautiful because interfere with it.
we got to see him smile," "But without that play, I
said former teammate wonder where we would
Roger Craig, who said he have been. And I stopped
almost fainted when he thinking about it, because
heard the news of Clark's so much happened af-
death. ter that. And yet, Dwight
"That's all I wanted to see
him smiling. We cried, we
all got a taste of Dwight, all
we wanted to do is see him
smile the whole time we all
were there and he smiled
the whole time. He made
us feel good and I know he
felt good knowing he had
all those teammates there
to support him."
Clark won two Super Bowls
with the 49ers during a
nine-year career that end-
ed in 1987. He memorably
pulled down the winning
touchdown pass from Joe
Montana in the NFC cham-
pionship game against the
Dallas Cowboys following
the 1981 season, a play re-
membered simply as "The
Catch ."