# The Catch (American football)
**The Catch** is the name given to a touchdown reception by [San Francisco 49ers](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-49ers) receiver [Dwight Clark](https://www.edgepedia.org/dwight-clark) on a 6-yard pass from quarterback [Joe Montana](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-montana) in the final minute of the NFC Championship Game on January 10, 1982, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The play gave the 49ers a 28-27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys and a berth in Super Bowl XVI, where they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals for the franchise's first Super Bowl title.[1](https://apnews.com/article/7b8cdb33406a5b4c1aa6c9667567c0ad) It is regarded as one of the most famous plays in NFL history and is remembered as the launching point of the 49ers' dynasty of the 1980s.[2](https://6abc.com/post/ranking-the-nfls-best-playoff-moments-the-catch-hail-mary-and-more/5825464/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Game | 1981 NFC Championship Game, January 10, 1982, Candlestick Park; 49ers 28, Cowboys 27[1](https://apnews.com/article/7b8cdb33406a5b4c1aa6c9667567c0ad) |
| Situation | Cowboys led by six, third-and-3 at the Cowboys' 6-yard line, about a minute left[2](https://6abc.com/post/ranking-the-nfls-best-playoff-moments-the-catch-hail-mary-and-more/5825464/) |
| The play | Montana rolled right and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Clark in the back corner of the end zone, over defender Everson Walls[2](https://6abc.com/post/ranking-the-nfls-best-playoff-moments-the-catch-hail-mary-and-more/5825464/) • [3](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/the-catch-at-40-49ers-cowboys-game/1vr9wsi39zxaw1ikp1r1iwwmll) |
| Consequence | First of four Super Bowl wins for the 49ers in the 1980s under Bill Walsh and George Seifert[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-17-sp-2243-story.html) |
| Historical ranking | No. 2 play in NFL history in the NFL 100 Greatest Plays ranking, behind the Immaculate Reception[5](https://wtop.com/nfl/2019/09/immaculate-reception-picked-as-best-play-in-nfl-history/) |
| Broadcast | Called on CBS by Vin Scully, better known as the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers[6](https://time.com/6203125/vin-scully-dies-dodgers-baseball/) |
## The game situation
The 1981 49ers finished 13-3, the best record in the NFL, after four straight losing seasons, while Dallas finished 12-4.[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26) • [8](https://www.nfl.com/100/originals/100-greatest/detail.html?slug=plays-2) The championship game was close throughout. Dallas led 17-14 at halftime, San Francisco took a 21-17 lead in the third quarter, and the Cowboys scored 10 fourth-quarter points to go up 27-21, the last on a 21-yard touchdown pass from [Danny White](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-white) to tight end Doug Cosbie with 4:54 remaining.[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26)
Montana had thrown three interceptions and lost two fumbles to that point, one of the weaker performances of his career.[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26) Starting from their own 11-yard line, the 49ers ran against a Dallas defense featuring five defensive backs, with running backs Lenvil Elliott and Ricky Patton gaining close to 50 yards on the drive.[11](https://www.49ers.com/news/75-for-75-more-than-the-catch-clark-montana-wersching-wright-pillers-stuckey) With about a minute left, San Francisco reached the 6-yard line.[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26)
## The play itself
The call was Sprint Option Right, the same play on which Freddie Solomon had scored the 49ers' first touchdown of the game.[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26) Montana rolled right, backpedaled near the sideline, pump-faked past defenders Ed "Too Tall" Jones, D.D. Lewis, and Larry Bethea, and threw high toward the back of the end zone.[2](https://6abc.com/post/ranking-the-nfls-best-playoff-moments-the-catch-hail-mary-and-more/5825464/) • [9](https://www.nfl.com/news/what-if-the-catch-became-known-as-the-drop-0ap3000001112435) Clark leaped above Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls and caught the ball at his fingertips in the corner of the end zone.[3](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/the-catch-at-40-49ers-cowboys-game/1vr9wsi39zxaw1ikp1r1iwwmll) The photograph of the ball in Clark's outstretched hand became one of the most reproduced images in the sport.[3](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/the-catch-at-40-49ers-cowboys-game/1vr9wsi39zxaw1ikp1r1iwwmll)
Accounts differ on the time remaining. The Associated Press puts the catch at 58 seconds left,[1](https://apnews.com/article/7b8cdb33406a5b4c1aa6c9667567c0ad) while Gil Brandt, the Cowboys' personnel chief who was on the Dallas sideline, recalled 51 seconds.[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26) Montana himself later said the play "actually should have never happened," and Clark joked that Montana preferred to call it "The Throw" rather than "The Catch."[10](https://www.49ers.com/news/farewell-candlestick-the-catch-12214304) • [11](https://www.49ers.com/news/75-for-75-more-than-the-catch-clark-montana-wersching-wright-pillers-stuckey)
## The play after the play
The Catch did not by itself end the game. Dallas got the ball back with time remaining, and White hit [Drew Pearson](https://www.edgepedia.org/drew-pearson-american-football) on a deep pass; Pearson appeared likely to score before 49ers cornerback Eric Wright grabbed him from behind by the collar and brought him down, a tackle that was legal under the rules of the time. Dallas then failed on a crossing route to Doug Donley, whose surgically repaired shoulder kept him from stretching fully for the pass, and White was sacked and fumbled on the next play, ending the game.[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26) The San Francisco Chronicle has argued that Wright's tackle is the reason the fabled grab is not a footnote, since a Cowboys touchdown would have sent Dallas to [Super Bowl XVI](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xvi) instead.[12](https://www.sfchronicle.com/49ers/article/49ers-Without-The-Tackle-there-might-not-12486018.php)
## Consequences for both franchises
The victory sent the 49ers to Super Bowl XVI, where they beat the [Cincinnati Bengals](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati-bengals) for their first championship.[1](https://apnews.com/article/7b8cdb33406a5b4c1aa6c9667567c0ad) San Francisco went on to win a record-tying four Super Bowls in the 1980s under coaches Bill Walsh and [George Seifert](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-seifert), and the team's short-passing [West Coast offense](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-coast-offense) became widely copied across the league.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-17-sp-2243-story.html) • [2](https://6abc.com/post/ranking-the-nfls-best-playoff-moments-the-catch-hail-mary-and-more/5825464/) For Dallas, the loss marked the end of its run as the NFC's dominant team of the 1970s; the Cowboys did not return to a Super Bowl until the 1992 season.[2](https://6abc.com/post/ranking-the-nfls-best-playoff-moments-the-catch-hail-mary-and-more/5825464/)
The play also carried an irony for Dallas. Montana was the 82nd pick of the 1979 draft, a selection the 49ers had indirectly acquired through the Cowboys, and Dallas had considered drafting Montana before he reached that pick. With three quarterbacks already on the roster, coach [Tom Landry](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-landry) said the team would only cut him in training camp, and Dallas drafted tight end Doug Cosbie instead; two and a half years later, Montana kept the Cowboys out of the [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl).[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26)
## The people behind it
Clark spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the 49ers, totaling 6,750 receiving yards and 48 touchdowns, yet he is remembered almost entirely for this single play.[13](https://as.com/us/us/2017/03/21/nfl/1490087465_462783.html) Montana, in his third season in 1981, went on to win four Super Bowls with San Francisco.[9](https://www.nfl.com/news/what-if-the-catch-became-known-as-the-drop-0ap3000001112435) The drive and the play call were designed by coach Bill Walsh, whose offense emphasized short passes and quick runs.[3](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/the-catch-at-40-49ers-cowboys-game/1vr9wsi39zxaw1ikp1r1iwwmll)
## Place in NFL history
In the NFL's 100th-season celebration in 2019, a panel of national media members voted The Catch the No. 2 play in league history, behind only [Franco Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/franco-harris)'s Immaculate Reception from the 1972 playoffs.[5](https://wtop.com/nfl/2019/09/immaculate-reception-picked-as-best-play-in-nfl-history/) An ESPN panel ranking the best postseason plays of the Super Bowl era also placed it second, behind the [Immaculate Reception](https://www.edgepedia.org/immaculate-reception).[2](https://6abc.com/post/ranking-the-nfls-best-playoff-moments-the-catch-hail-mary-and-more/5825464/) The CBS broadcast call belonged to [Vin Scully](https://www.edgepedia.org/vin-scully), who worked national football telecasts alongside his Dodgers duties, and 49ers fans came to associate him with the franchise-altering moment.[6](https://time.com/6203125/vin-scully-dies-dodgers-baseball/) Commentators have noted that the play's fame rests on its circumstances, a championship game decided in the final minute, as much as on the catch itself.[9](https://www.nfl.com/news/what-if-the-catch-became-known-as-the-drop-0ap3000001112435)
## References
1. [Today in History: January 10, "The Catch" sends 49ers to Super Bowl, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/7b8cdb33406a5b4c1aa6c9667567c0ad)
2. [Ranking the NFL's best playoff moments: The Catch, Hail Mary and more, ESPN via 6abc](https://6abc.com/post/ranking-the-nfls-best-playoff-moments-the-catch-hail-mary-and-more/5825464/)
3. ['The Catch' at 40: 5 things to know about that 49ers-Cowboys game, Sporting News](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/the-catch-at-40-49ers-cowboys-game/1vr9wsi39zxaw1ikp1r1iwwmll)
4. [Catch of the Decade: When Montana and Clark Hooked Up in the 1982 NFC Title Game, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-17-sp-2243-story.html)
5. ['Immaculate Reception' picked as best play in NFL history, WTOP News](https://wtop.com/nfl/2019/09/immaculate-reception-picked-as-best-play-in-nfl-history/)
6. ['I Think He Stands Alone.' Remembering a Perfect Vin Scully Call, TIME](https://time.com/6203125/vin-scully-dies-dodgers-baseball/)
7. [Thirty years later, memories of 'The Catch' still linger, NFL.com (Gil Brandt)](https://www.nfl.com/news/thirty-years-later-memories-of-the-catch-still-linger-09000d5d825e0e26)
8. [NFL 100 Greatest Plays: The Catch, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/100/originals/100-greatest/detail.html?slug=plays-2)
9. [What if 'The Catch' became known as 'The Drop'?, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/what-if-the-catch-became-known-as-the-drop-0ap3000001112435)
10. [Farewell Candlestick: The Catch, 49ers.com](https://www.49ers.com/news/farewell-candlestick-the-catch-12214304)
11. [75 for 75: More Than The Catch, 49ers.com](https://www.49ers.com/news/75-for-75-more-than-the-catch-clark-montana-wersching-wright-pillers-stuckey)
12. [49ers: Without 'The Tackle,' there might not have been 'The Catch', San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/49ers/article/49ers-Without-The-Tackle-there-might-not-12486018.php)
13. [Dwight Clark, héroe de los San Francisco 49ers, tiene ELA, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2017/03/21/nfl/1490087465_462783.html)
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