Highlighted Year: Dwight Clark, 1981

Wide Receiver, San Francisco 49ers

Age: 24

3^rd season in pro football & with 49ers

College: Clemson

Height: 6’3”   Weight: 205

Prelude:

Playing across from star WR Jerry Butler in college, Clark caught 33 passes for 571 yards (17.3 avg.) and three touchdowns and was chosen by the 49ers in the 10^th round of the 1979 NFL draft. He started three games as a rookie and had 18 catches for 232 yards, but broke out in 1980 with 82 receptions for 991 yards and eight touchdowns. An overachieving possession receiver, he proved to be a comfortable fit in San Francisco’s West Coast passing offense.

1981 Season Summary

Appeared in all 16 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 85 [2, 1^st in NFC]    

Most receptions, game – 9 (for 77 yds.) at Atlanta 9/20

Yards – 1105 [9]

Most yards, game – 135 (on 4 catches) vs. Dallas 10/11

Average gain – 13.0

TDs – 4

100-yard receiving games – 3

Rushing

Attempts – 3

Yards – 32

Average gain – 10.7

TDs – 0

Passing

Attempts – 1

Completions – 0

Yards – 0

Interceptions – 0

Scoring

TDs – 4

Points – 24

Postseason: 3 G

Pass receptions – 17

Most pass receptions, game – 8 vs. Dallas, NFC Championship

Pass receiving yards – 269

Most pass receiving yards, game – 120 vs. Dallas, NFC Championship

Average yards per reception – 15.8

Pass Receiving TDs – 2

Rushing attempts – 2

Rushing yards – 4

Yards per attempt – 2.0

Rushing TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:

2^nd team All-NFC: UPI

Pro Bowl

49ers went 13-3 to finish first in the NFC West. Won NFC Divisional playoff over New York Giants (38-24), NFC Championship over Dallas Cowboys (28-27) & Super Bowl over Cincinnati Bengals (26-21).

Aftermath:

While the 49ers dipped from their championship form in 1982, Clark led the NFL with 60 catches, for 913 yards (15.2 avg.) and five touchdowns, in the strike-shortened season and was a consensus first-team All-NFL as well as Pro Bowl selection. He had 70 receptions for 840 yards and 8 TDs in ’83, but also had knee surgery. Clark remained a dependable clutch receiver until 1987, when further knee problems ended his career after nine seasons, all with the 49ers. Overall, he caught 506 passes for 6750 yards (13.3 avg.) and 48 touchdowns. He added another 48 receptions for 726 yards (15.1 avg.) and three TDs in the postseason, which included his dramatic NFC Championship game-winning catch in 1981. Clark was a consensus first-team All-NFL choice once and was chosen to two Pro Bowls. The 49ers retired his #87.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1982: Joe Montana Passes Mistake-Prone 49ers Past Cardinals

It had been over two months since NFL teams had last taken the field as the St. Louis Cardinals hosted the San Francisco 49ers at Busch Stadium on November 21, 1982. The players had gone on strike – the first to occur during the season – following the second week of action. The work-stoppage was over, 57 days later, and now Week 3 was occurring late in November.

Head Coach Bill Walsh’s 49ers were coming off a championship season in 1981, but had lost their first two games in ’82 prior to the strike. The Cardinals were 1-1 under Head Coach Jim Hanifan and coming off of a 7-9 year in ’81. The teams had just four days of practice prior to the contest.

There were 38,064 fans in attendance – and, as was the case in many NFL venues on this day, many no-shows (13,328). The 49ers took the early lead as Ray Wersching booted a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter and RB Jeff Moore scored on a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead.

With 30 seconds remaining in the first half, the Cardinals got on the board as WR Roy Green made a diving catch of a 17-yard pass from QB Neil Lomax for a touchdown. The 49ers got the ball back but fumbled, and LB Charlie Baker recovered for St. Louis. But an opportunity to tie the score at the half was lost when Neil O’Donoghue missed a 44-yard field goal attempt on the last play (he also missed from 47 yards in the first quarter). San Francisco remained in the lead at 10-7.

The Cardinals took advantage of two turnovers in the third quarter to go in front. First, DE Curtis Greer recovered a fumble that set up O’Donoghue’s tying field goal from 30 yards out. Then CB Jeff Griffin intercepted a Joe Montana pass and O’Donoghue kicked a 32-yard field goal to make the score 13-10 in favor of St. Louis. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the failure to get a touchdown on one or both possessions allowed the 49ers ample room to recover.

The turning point in the game came when San Francisco got the ball back, still in the third quarter. Facing a third-and-18 situation in his own territory, Montana connected with WR Renaldo Nehemiah on a 55-yard pass play. Two plays later, Montana threw a six-yard TD pass to TE Russ Francis that put the Niners back in the lead at 17-13.

The Cardinals had a chance to make a big play of their own, but Lomax overthrew Green on what could have been a 45-yard TD pass. Now in the fourth quarter, the 49ers regained possession and went 91 yards in 10 plays with Montana hitting WR Dwight Clark for a 33-yard touchdown.

San Francisco had another big play that set up a third passing touchdown. Montana passed to rookie RB Vince Williams, who proceeded to gain 55 yards to set up a 17-yard TD pass to RB Earl Cooper. In a stretch of 13 minutes, the Niners had scored three touchdowns to take control, at 31-13, of what had been a close game.

38-year-old veteran QB Jim Hart replaced the second-year Lomax with nine minutes remaining and led the Cardinals to a score on a three-yard carry by RB Ottis Anderson. But it was too-little, too-late as the 49ers won by a final score of 31-20.

San Francisco outgained the Cardinals by 448 yards to 254 and had 22 first downs to 15 for St. Louis. The 49ers were damaged by their three turnovers, as opposed to none by the Cardinals, but the failure of the home team to better capitalize on their opportunities set the stage for the Niners to take control.

Joe Montana completed 26 of 39 passes for a then-team record 408 yards with three touchdowns against one interception. The fourth-year veteran out of Notre Dame spread the ball around well as eight different receivers caught at least two passes apiece. In the second half alone, he completed 15 of 20 for 238 yards and all of the TDs.


Dwight Clark (pictured at left) led the club with 6 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown while Renaldo Nehemiah gained 93 yards on three receptions and Jeff Moore contributed four catches for 87 yards to go along with his 9 rushing attempts for 19 yards. Indeed, the 49ers gained just 77 yards on 26 running plays, and Earl Cooper led the way with 30 yards on 7 carries.

For the Cardinals, Neil Lomax was successful on just 9 of 23 passes for 82 yards and a TD. Jim Hart was more proficient, completing 8 of 11 throws for 72 yards. Ottis Anderson led the club with 65 yards on 15 rushes, including a TD, and also caught 6 passes for 51 yards. WR Pat Tilley slightly led in pass receiving yards with 53 on four receptions.

“It's a good way to come back,” Montana said afterward. “My timing wasn't there early and I made a lot of mistakes. But I thought we played well. I wasn't surprised; we looked like we were in good shape in practice.”

There was concern that the players might go back on strike if they voted to reject the preliminary settlement that had allowed play to resume. The Cardinals’ player representative, guard Terry Stieve, said, “Here in St. Louis, we'll ratify it and I have a gut feeling it will be ratified by the players throughout the league. The fans are the forgotten group in this thing, so it's time both sides realize the importance of the fans. I don't blame them for feeling cheated in this deal.”

The games did continue through what became a nine-game regular season. Division play was done away with and the top eight teams in each conference qualified for a playoff tournament. The 49ers didn’t make it that far - plagued by injuries and (according to Coach Walsh) diminished intensity, they ended up with a 3-6 record and a woeful eleventh place in the 14-team NFC. St. Louis made out better, going 5-4 and making it to the postseason as the sixth seeded team in the conference. They were handily beaten by Green Bay in the first round.

Joe Montana topped NFL quarterbacks with 346 attempts and 17 touchdown passes (tied with Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw and Dan Fouts of the Chargers) and ranked second in completions (213) and yards (2613). While he was at it, he set a record by stringing together five straight 300-yard passing performances (since exceeded).

Dwight Clark led the league with 60 pass receptions and was second with 913 receiving yards. He was a consensus first-team All-Pro and was named to the Pro Bowl.

The losing record by the 49ers would be their last until 1999 – a string of 16 consecutive seasons in which they would never finish with fewer than 10 wins. The club won four NFL championships during that run.