The Catch ( American football ) The Catch refers to the winning touchdown reception by Dwight Clark off a Joe Montana pass in the January 10 , 1982 , between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers . The Catch is widely regarded as one of the most memorable events in NFL history . The game represented the end of Dallas ' domination in the NFC since the conference ' s inception in 1970 , and the beginning of San Francisco ' s rise as both an NFC and Super Bowl power in the 1980s . Play . In a game where the lead shifted back and forth repeatedly , the 49ers took over the ball at their own 11 - yard line trailing 27 - 21 . San Francisco marched down to the Dallas 6 - yard line , where they faced third down and three with 58 seconds left on the clock . When Joe Montana took the snap , the play , known as Sprint Right Option , was intended to be a pass to wide receiver Freddie Solomon ; earlier in the game , Solomon had scored a touchdown on that play . However , the Cowboys covered Solomon perfectly . Making matters worse , the pass rush of the Cowboys collapsed the 49ers offensive line . Two of the Cowboys defensive ends Ed " Too Tall " Jones and Larry Bethea , plus linebacker D . D . Lewis chased a backpedaling Montana toward the sideline , and seemed certain to either send him out of bounds or sack him . But at the last moment , and after pump - faking to get 6 - foot 9 - inch " Too Tall " Jones to jump , Montana threw a high pass to the back of the end zone that seemed destined to sail out of bounds until 49ers receiver Dwight Clark made a leaping grab with his fingertips for the go - ahead touchdown with 51 seconds left in the game . Clark finished the game with 8 catches for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns . The play , remembered in 49er lore as " Red Right Tight - Sprint Right Option " had called for both the primary receiver , Solomon , and Clark to line up on the right . Montana was supposed to roll to his right and find Solomon . Clark ' s pattern called for him to cut left across the end zone , stop , and immediately reverse his path to the right . If Solomon were covered , it would be up to Montana to find Clark . Due to the pressure , Montana ' s pass was high , but Clark was in position to make his memorable grab . A photograph of the catch by Walter Iooss , Jr . , with Clark at the height of his leap and Everson Walls reaching out to try to block the ball , was featured on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " the following week . Other contributors on the final 89 - yard drive that led to the play now referred to as “ The Catch ” included Lenvil Elliott ( RB ) , Earl Cooper ( FB ) , Mike Wilson ( WR ) , Charle Young ( TE ) , Dan Audick ( LT ) , John Ayers ( LG ) , Fred Quillan ( C ) , Randy Cross ( RG ) , and Keith Fahnhorst ( RT ) . Clark and Montana re - enacted The Catch in observance of the 25th anniversary of the play as part of San Francisco alumni day activities at halftime of the Minnesota game November 5 , 2006 , at Candlestick Park . Reactions . Some people claimed that Montana was trying to throw the ball away , leaving time for a fourth down . Clark disputes that assertion , claiming that it was a backup plan that they practiced many times . Montana confirmed that he could not see the end zone through the defenders , but claims that he knew exactly where Clark would be . The 49ers coach , Bill Walsh , assumed that it was a throw - away play and immediately began planning for the fourth down until he heard the cheers from the crowd . As for the height of the catch , Montana has said that he didn ' t feel that he threw the ball very high . However , Clark leapt as high as he could only to get his fingertips on the ball . In the " Sports Illustrated " article , Montana explained that he never saw The Catch , since he had just been knocked to the ground by Too Tall Jones , but " I saw Dwight ' s feet touch the ground . I heard the crowd scream . " Later , in the locker room , he expressed his amazement at how high Clark had jumped . Clark reported that Too Tall Jones reacted to the play by stating " You just beat America ' s Team " to Montana after Clark had caught the pass . Montana replied , " Well , you can sit at home with the rest of America and watch the Super Bowl . " Aftermath and legacy . While The Catch is well known , there was still 51 seconds left on the clock after Clark ' s touchdown , and with Dallas needing only a field goal to win , the game was far from over . After the ensuing kickoff , Dallas receiver Drew Pearson caught a long pass , but defensive back Eric C . Wright made a touchdown - saving horse collar - type tackle ( then a legal tackle ) to keep him from scoring . This play was known as " The Grab " . On the next play , quarterback Danny White fumbled the ball while being sacked by Lawrence Pillers , and San Francisco ’ s Jim Stuckey recovered the ball , sealing a victory for the 49ers . The 49ers won 28 – 27 and went on to win Super Bowl XVI over the Cincinnati Bengals . This game was a watershed in the historic fortunes of both the 49ers and the Cowboys . After being a losing team in the 1970s , San Francisco went on to win four Super Bowl s in the 1980s , and made the playoffs eight out of the next 10 years . Meanwhile , Dallas , the most successful team in the NFC in the 1970s , never made it back to the Super Bowl in the 1980s , and suffered losing seasons in the last part of that decade , not returning to the Super Bowl until the 1990s . New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady , a Bay Area native who ultimately grew up idolizing Montana on his way to his own successful NFL career , attended the game as a four - year - old , and aspired to become a Niner . The Catch was immortalized by two dramatic broadcast play - by - play calls . Vin Scully described the play on CBS Television : Meanwhile , Jack Buck had the call over on CBS Radio : Dwight Clark while discussing The Catch in " " documentary about the 1981 49ers had this to say about the legacy of that play . Cultural references . For several years in the 1980s and 1990s , Kodak featured a television ad to the tune of Barbra Streisand ' s " The Way We Were " featuring The Catch , as shown by NFL Films . Kodak also featured a photo still of The Catch in their magazine ads , accompanied by the caption , " The 49ers grab a TD and a title . " In the October 16 , 2001 episode " My Old Lady " of the American television sitcom / medical drama " Scrubs " , when a dying patient David asks if anyone has ever heard of The Catch , Turk comes in and says , " Niners - Cowboys , Joe Montana to Dwight Clark deep in the end - zone , zero time left . Kid , please , don ' t insult me . " Turk later joins David in watching the game . In 2002 , the NFL ran a series of advertisements promoting the playoffs , using famous plays as a uniting theme . Actor Don Cheadle demonstrated the height of Clark ' s catch by standing on a stepladder in the end zone . In 2005 , a commercial for the Gatorade sports drink , known as " The Winning Formula " , portrayed an alternate version of The Catch , in which the ball bounced out of Clark ' s fingertips . Following the Gatorade logo , the real version was shown with Dwight Clark ' s completion . This is also done with Derek Jeter ' s " flip play " going wide of home plate and Michael Jordan ' s famous buzzer - beater against Cleveland going off the rim . On August 5 , 2007 , " The Best Damn Sports Show Period " did a special show commemorating the top 50 amazing sports catches of all time . The Catch is listed as # 17 .