Dwight Clark, the wide receiver whose spectacular last-minute leaping touchdown reception, known as “The Catch,” propelled the San Francisco 49ers toward the first N.F.L. championship in their history and ushered in their dominance of the league through the 1980s, died on Monday in Whitefish, Mont. He was 61.
His death was announced by his wife, Kelly, on his Twitter account. He revealed in March 2017 that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the degenerative nerve-cell disorder known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Clark was only a 10th-round pick by the 49ers in the 1979 N.F.L. draft, having caught just three touchdown passes playing for Clemson.