Gary Myers - The Catch: One Play, Two Dynasties, and the Game That Changed the NFL

I WAS FORTUNATE enough to play in four Super Bowls with the 49ers, and they are all very special. But who really knows if that great run would have even happened if we hadnt had that incredible Sunday in January of 1982? Thats when Too Tall Jones and what seemed like the entire Cowboys defense was chasing me and Dwight Clark was trying to lose Everson Walls running across the back of the end zone. I threw it and Dwight caught it.

It was exhilarating. It was unforgettable. It was history.

As I go around the country, people always ask me if I was throwing the ball away. The question mainly comes from Cowboys fans. Thats no surprise. The answer is no, but it really doesnt matter now, does it? Dwight made The Catch.

To this day, the Cowboys still think I was trying to toss the ball into the upper deck of Candlestick Park. I knew it was high when I let it go, but I still thought it was going to be a touchdown. I just had no idea what a great catch Dwight made until somebody told me he jumped out of the stadium to grab it. I was on my back after running for my life and only knew he caught the ball because of the crowd reaction.

I didnt see Dwights catch until I watched the replay when I got back to the locker room. But heres one thing I know: The history of the NFL cant be told without a good, long conversation about The Catch. It is one of the most spectacular plays in league history. How many times do you still see it on television? If it didnt mean so much, you wouldnt see it over and over again.

There was a great feeling of excitement on our team before the game. The 49ers won 13 games that season and we had the best record in the NFC, but going into the season, nobody expected us to be in the NFC Championship Game, not even us. We had won only 2 games in 1979, my rookie year and Bill Walshs first year in San Francisco. We improved to 610 in our second season. But this was a building process, and Bill still had some major construction to complete as he entered his third season. I was hoping he felt he had his quarterback. I was confident he had.

And now here we were, one step from the Super Bowl, going against Americas Team. We took the Cowboys apart during the regular season 4514, the game that eventually earned us the home field for the title game. We heard all the talk before the rematch about how the real Cowboys hadnt shown up in October and it would be different this time. It put a chip on our shoulder and led to spirited trash talking before and during the game, some of which, believe it or not, even came from my mouth. Sorry about that, Too Tall.

Gary Myers rekindles so many great memories in The Catch. I can close my eyes and imagine being back in Candlestick that day, our championship-starved fans cheering wildly, only 58 seconds on the clock, we were down by 6, and after coming so far as a team and on that drive, we had to find a way to get into the end zone. It was high stakes, but it was fun. This is what you dream about as a kid playing touch football in the backyard with your friends. The championship on the line, the ball in your hands, you have to make a play.

Dwight was a great athlete. He had pretty good leaping ability. When I finally saw The Catch, I was shocked to see how high I made Dwight jump to go get that pass. To be able to get up that high and stretch and then still catch the ballthat was an all-timer.

It was a great game, maybe the greatest game I ever played in. The Catch was so memorable thats all you have to say, and everybody knows what you are talking about. It allowed a team of young guys and veterans, rookies who didnt know any better and old guys just trying to hold onto a dream, to bond together forever.

I was rolling to my right with the Cowboys defense closing in on me. I saw Dwight in the back of the end zone and let the ball go. He went up and got it, and a lifetime of memories was born.