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

Looking at a single, spectacular play from 17 years ago, long-time sportswriter and commentator Myers extracts a graceful examination of the National Football League, and the legends it created. In January, 1982, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana threw a high pass to Dwight Clark in a contentious game against the Dallas Cowboys. Clark's catch-a stunning, stratospheric leap-led to the team's victory, their subsequent Super Bowl trajectory and a number of on- and off-the-field careers; it also reversed the fortunes of two franchises. Myers covers the locker rooms, the front offices, and the lives of varied participants-brilliant coaches Tom Landry and Bill Walsh, assistants, owners, rookies, old-timers and others swirling around the leads, who first met at a lunch counter: ""This was the start of Clark's professional career: dinner at HoJo's. For all Clark knew, it would be the highlight."" A resonant look back at a defining moment for fans of both teams (""Montana always heard from Cowboys fans how he broke their hearts with that pass""), this is also an involving story of the characters and traditions upon which the NFL is built.