Dwight Clark, the former 49ers star best known for his leaping, winning catch in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, says he has been diagnosed with ALS.
He disclosed his diagnosis of the disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Sunday in a statement posted on the website of former 49ers owner Ed DeBartolo Jr.
"In September of 2015, I started feeling weakness in my left hand," Clark wrote. "I was mildly paying attention to it because since my playing days, I've constantly had pain in my neck. I was thinking it was related to some kind of nerve damage because it would just come and go.
"After months of tests and treatment, I got some bad news," he continued. "I was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. I have ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Those words are still very hard for me to say."
Clark said he doesn't know if playing football caused the disease but he suspects that is the case. ALS has in recent years been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the degenerative brain disease that studies have linked to athletes and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including concussions.
"I've been asked if playing football caused this," Clark wrote. "I don't know for sure. But I certainly suspect it did. And I encourage the NFLPA and the NFL to continue working together in their efforts to make the game of football safer, especially as it relates to head trauma."
Dwight Clark is best remembered for "The Catch," a Joe Montana-to-Clark game-winning touchdown connection with 51 seconds remaining in the 49ers' 28-27 NFC Championship Game victory over the Dallas Cowboys that sent the 49ers to their first Super Bowl in the 1981 season. It kick-started a dynasty for the franchise and was honored as the No. 1 play ever during the 49ers' final regular-season home games at iconic Candlestick Park in 2013.
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This is so sad.