A line of them stretched across the entire width of San Francisco’s cavernous Grace Cathedral.
All the former 49ers players and coaches in attendance whose time on the team once overlapped with Dwight Clark — over 50 of them in total, traveling from all corners of the country — came forward and joined Joe Montana after the Hall of Fame quarterback delivered a poignant reflection on his fallen friend’s life.
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“I’ll never forget the barbecue we had together in Capitola,” Montana said. “Dwight uttered some words to me that I’ll never forget. He said, ‘Will you speak at my funeral?’ When I looked into his eyes, I realized he was serious.”
Clark died at 61 on June 4 after a two-year bout with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His words to Montana came shortly after he was diagnosed with the debilitating disease, and Wednesday’s memorial served as a final farewell.
It was a truly impressive scene at Grace: There were 375 people in attendance, and the many former teammates completely filled the breadth of the massive space when they came to the front, all while the cathedral choir sang behind them.
“Those who loved Dwight Clark all made time to be here,” former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. said in his eulogy.
Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice and Roger Craig came. So did Steve Young, who joined the 49ers in 1987, the final season of Clark’s career. Former 49ers coaches George Seifert, Mike Holmgren (an assistant during Clark’s years) and Steve Mariucci all attended, as did Terrell Owens (the 49ers drafted him in 1996, when Clark was a team executive).
Even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell flew in from New York just for the memorial, telling The Athletic that Clark was a trusted friend whom he could always count on for advice.
“It was always good, and it was always honest,” Goodell said of Clark’s guidance. “And I really loved that about him.”
Clark, a North Carolina-born wide receiver, came to the Bay Area from Clemson after Bill Walsh discovered him — nearly by accident — while scouting an entirely different player in 1979.
Clark arrived with Montana, and the two bonded over their similarities: They were relatively anonymous rookies who “both came to San Francisco from small towns with their eyes wide open,” as Montana put it during his remarks.
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Two years after that arrival, of course, one famous play would conjoin their legacies for the rest of NFL history.
“The Catch,” Clark’s soaring last-minute touchdown, which led the 49ers past the Dallas Cowboys in the January 1982 NFC Championship Game, resonated with many different people on many different levels.
It launched the 49ers dynasty, which ultimately resulted in five Super Bowl victories. It became one of the most iconic plays in NFL history. And — as many, including former San Francisco mayor Dianne Feinstein, have noted — it lifted the spirits of a city that badly needed a boost following a tumultuous close to the 1970s, marred by the Jonestown massacre and a double assassination at City Hall.
“The day ‘The Catch’ was made, just the emotion, what it did for those kids in Hunters Point and in the Bayview neighborhoods, that’s something I’ll never forget,” the Rev. Earl A. Smith Sr., who presided over the service, said in his opening remarks. “I remember walking back to the house. The streets were just full of people celebrating.
“It was a party in the streets as these kids realized that for the rest of their lives, they were going to have this moment to remember.”
Later, Montana took his turn at the lectern, opening with his memory of Clark’s solemn request for him to speak at this service before continuing with brighter memories.
“As I watched my friend become a shadow of himself, I tried not to think of where he was headed but thought about the good times,” Montana said. “I tried to make him laugh.”
Montana reminisced about Clark’s Southern drawl and constant exuberance, which could liven up even a silent, bruised locker room following an old-school NFL training camp practice.
“Dwight also could be called Tarzan,” Montana said. “Because after a long, hard practice, he had the most amazing Tarzan yell that bellowed through the locker room. Just pure joy cut through all the tension that was there after a long, hard day of work.”
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Later in his career, Clark tore his ACL when Cowboys defensive lineman Randy White fell on his knee. Montana remembered visiting Clark at the hospital, bringing a poster of White with a bullseye around his knee as a joking retaliatory gesture to cheer Clark up.
“So there Dwight was, shooting darts at his knee,” Montana said, as the entire congregation laughed. “I’ve never seen anyone take so much joy out of a knee injury in his life.”
Montana emphasized that Clark stayed true to his upbeat self, even when he eventually took a back seat to Rice and John Taylor later in his career.
“He was loyal and he was compassionate,” Montana said, noting that Clark even wanted to stay behind in New York with him after the quarterback had suffered a concussion against the Giants and was unable to take the team flight home.
“But I think what actually happened,” Montana said to more laughter as he highlighted Clark’s mischievous side, “is that we were staying at the Waldorf and were going to Mr. DeBartolo Sr.’s favorite restaurant that night, so he wanted to come along.”
After Montana spoke, it was DeBartolo Jr.’s turn to deliver the eulogy, which closed the service.
The very second that DeBartolo finished, it was exactly noon, and the cathedral’s bells tolled. The timing was purely coincidental, but, like Clark’s impact on so many in attendance, it was striking.
“He was our Clint Eastwood,” DeBartolo said. “He was our Joe Namath.”
The second part of that is a reference to the fur coat that Clark wore to the 49ers’ first Super Bowl championship parade in 1982.
“He excelled at so many things,” DeBartolo continued. “He could’ve been a professional singer — maybe not as good as Huey Lewis, but he might’ve given the News a run for their money.”
Lewis, the musical star who developed a tight bond with many 49ers players of the 1980s, was also in attendance.
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DeBartolo then pivoted to Clark’s final years, during which ALS rapidly eroded his health. DeBartolo paid for Clark’s treatment, including a trip to Japan for experimental remedies, and organized a get-together for Clark and many former 49ers at his ranch in Montana this past April.
Clark’s condition was rapidly deteriorating at this time. He died less than two months later, so it would be the last time almost all of his friends saw him.
“But he didn’t want to waste one moment, so he gutted it out,” DeBartolo said. “He laughed at all our stories, including the ones of me getting into fights with opposing fans while we were playing on the road.
“ALS took so much from Dwight, but it couldn’t break his spirit. And it didn’t dare touch his heart.”
After Candlestick Park was demolished earlier this decade, DeBartolo had the goal post from the end zone of “The Catch” shipped out to his ranch in Montana. It’s now positioned on the grass there. During that final April visit by his friends, Clark rolled out in a wheelchair to the goal post to pose for pictures.
Now, Clark’s ashes rest under the grass and several flowers just to the right of that Candlestick artifact in Montana — at the same exact distance away from the goal post as the actual spot of “The Catch.”
“He can soar again now,” DeBartolo said to close the service. “But this time, Dwight is ready to touch the heavens.”
The former owner’s final remark struck a similar emotional chord to the former quarterback’s. And they were both rooted in the same, legendary memory that Clark delivered over 36 years ago.
“Dwight always told me, ‘you know, they don’t call it ‘The Throw,”” Montana said to more laughter from the congregation.
Then, after a long pause, silence overtook the cathedral again, and Montana threw his parting words in Clark’s direction.
“Yes, that’s true my friend, and I will catch you on the other side,” Montana said. “I love you, I miss you, and it was a pleasure having you in my life.”
— Reported from San Francisco
(Top photo: Eric Risberg/AP)
