The 49ers’ oldest player, kicker Robbie Gould, 35, was born 11 months after Dwight Clark made The Catch, and their youngest player, cornerback Tarvarus McFadden, 21, was born nine years after Clark retired from the NFL.
That doesn’t mean they are clueless when it comes to NFL history, but general manager John Lynch said many players only have a loose grasp of 49ers’ lore.
“I’m reminded every day that these guys remember the last five years,” Lynch said. (Although) “I think they’ve all seen and heard of The Catch.”
With this mind, the 49ers’ meeting before practice was, in effect, a class that could have been titled: Who was Dwight Clark and why does he matter?