Back to the San Francisco 49ers Newsfeed

Former 49er Dwight Clark, whose catch will live forever, dead at 61

Dwight Clark, the former 49ers wide receiver whose leaping touchdown catch in 1982 is perhaps the most iconic play of the modern NFL era, passed away Monday from complications of ALS. He was 61.

His wife, Kelly, broke the news on Clark's Twitter account, which he used in March of last year to announce that he had been diagnosed with ALS, which stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neuro-muscular ailment that impairs the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe.

"I’m heartbroken to tell you that today I lost my best friend and husband," Kelly Clark wrote.