Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area wouldn't call himself a San Francisco 49ers fans today. He can't in his line of work. His objectivity helps make his reporting as a 49ers insider better than most. Maiocco was, however, a fan of the team growing up in Chico, California, a city that sits over 150 miles north of the former site of Candlestick Park.
Maiocco is responsible for getting "Letters to 87: Fans Remember the Legacy of Dwight Clark," a new book that honors the life and legacy of the 49ers legend, off the ground.
The book launches today, on August 7 (8/7), which happened to be "Dwight Clark Day" during the team's open practice at the SAP Performance Facility. It brings together letters from fans who share their memories of "The Catch," the iconic play that saw Clark leap into the air on January 10, 1982, to catch a Joe Montana-thrown football and lift the 49ers organization into relevance. Those letters were even read to Clark before his passing, and the stories of his reactions to them are shared within the book.
There are 118 fan letters beautifully displayed inside "Letters to 87." Some are funny, while others will tug at your heart. But what of Maiocco's memories from "The Catch?" During an appearance on the team's live look-in before Wednesday's practice, the 49ers insider and author recounted what was going through his head during the greatest moment in franchise history.
Maiocco noted that he didn't always get to watch the 49ers play because they weren't always on television before the 1981 season. There just wasn't enough interest in the struggling team.
"I was always conditioned for bad things happening to the 49ers," Maiocco shared with Keiana Martin of 49ers.com. "So my first thought when Dwight came out of nowhere — he was nowhere on the screen, and then all of a sudden, he just caught the ball. My first thought was, 'These are the 49ers. The 49ers break the hearts of their fans. There's probably a penalty. It's coming back. It's not going to stand.'"
Maiocco waited for the penalty to be announced. And waited. And waited some more.
The penalty never came.
"By the time it really sunk in that it was a touchdown, Ray Wersching was kicking the extra point, and the 49ers had taken the lead," Maiocco continued. "Then Eric Wright and the defense had to hold on. But I remember just thinking this can't be true. The 49ers don't beat the Dallas Cowboys.
"And that play right there was, in the history of the NFL, it really started the 49ers on a steep incline — they won the Super Bowl two weeks later — and it really started the Dallas Cowboys on a slide. It was a very important play in football history."
"Letters to 87" can be purchased on Amazon or through other retailers. A complete list of options as well as a listing of events surrounding the book launch can be found on the official website, Lettersto87.com.
One hundred percent of the book royalties will be donated to the Golden Heart Fund.
You can watch the entire live look-in below.