GARY MYERS started covering the NFL in 1978 and was in the press box at Candlestick Park for The Catch on January 10, 1982, as the beat writer covering the Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News. In 1989, he not only joined the New York Daily News, but also began a thirteen-season run as the inside information reporter for HBO's popular Inside the NFL. Myers has also hosted the YES Network's This Week in Football since 2002.
From Publishers Weekly
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."
++++++++
"Gary Myers captures one of the most exciting, interesting, and
pivotal games in NFL history. The '81 NFC Championship Game had
everything that makes football America's most popular sport. It was
that rare game that became worthy of its own title by virtue of one
spectacular play -- The Catch. But it was a game about far more
than one play. The poignant stories of what happened to the heroes
of the game elevate the book into a tale about the human spirit.
This is a great slice of NFL history and a story well worth
reading."
—Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner
"Gary Myers has captured the story behind the story of the game
that started the 49er dynasty of the 80s. Nobody understands the
significance of that game more than I do. Joe Montana and Bill
Walsh beat us twice in Super Bowls during the 80s, including that
year. I want to thank Gary for opening old wounds. Back to the
therapist I go."
—Cris Collinsworth, former All Pro Bengals great and commentator
for Sunday Night Football
"Gary Myers brought back so many great memories for me in The
Catch. Reading it was like taking a step back to some of the
greatest years of my life. Story after story, it gave me chills and
let me re-live how awesome the season of '81 was for the San
Francisco 49ers and our fans. There's not a day that goes by when
someone doesn't ask me about that play. The Catch allowed me to
enjoy the memory of that moment in elaborate detail."
—Dwight Clark, former All Pro 49er and on the receiving end of The
Catch
"Gary Myers brought me right back to The Catch game. It's one of
those games that I will remember where I was when it happened. It
was really the first time you held Joe Montana with such reverence,
Bill Walsh first became a genius, the 49ers began a dynasty and the
end began for Tom Landry. Gary Myers took me back to Candlestick
Park and allowed me to relive such great memories of Montana
throwing the ball, Ed Jones looming in front of him and Dwight
Clark making an impossible leap. This is a book that will stick
with you forever."
—Pat Summerall, legendary football announcer
"Gary Myers has always been uncompromising when it comes to getting
things right. And in The Catch, he's once again spot-on in
capturing the essence, flavor, and magnitude of one of the most
compelling and dramatic games in NFL history. All in all, its
perspective on how one game altered the paths of two storied
franchises and the sport itself, so richly told, makes The Catch a
terrific read."
—Al Michaels, NBC
"Standing on the sidelines when Joe Montana connected with Dwight
Clark for The Catch, I knew right away this was a special game.
What nobody could have guessed is that the 1981 NFC Championship
game was about to turn the NFL sideways. What Gary Myers brings to
life are the characters at Candlestick Park that day, so many of
them still so familiar almost thirty years later. But many of their
stories have been far from familiar . . . until now. A watershed
game becomes even more momentous!"
—Chris Berman, ESPN
From Publishers Weekly
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."
++++++++
"Gary Myers captures one of the most exciting, interesting, and
pivotal games in NFL history. The '81 NFC Championship Game had
everything that makes football America's most popular sport. It was
that rare game that became worthy of its own title by virtue of one
spectacular play -- The Catch. But it was a game about far more
than one play. The poignant stories of what happened to the heroes
of the game elevate the book into a tale about the human spirit.
This is a great slice of NFL history and a story well worth
reading."
-Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner
"Gary Myers has captured the story behind the story of the game
that started the 49er dynasty of the 80s. Nobody understands the
significance of that game more than I do. Joe Montana and Bill
Walsh beat us twice in Super Bowls during the 80s, including that
year. I want to thank Gary for opening old wounds. Back to the
therapist I go."
-Cris Collinsworth, former All Pro Bengals great and commentator
for Sunday Night Football
"Gary Myers brought back so many great memories for me in The
Catch. Reading it was like taking a step back to some of the
greatest years of my life. Story after story, it gave me chills and
let me re-live how awesome the season of '81 was for the San
Francisco 49ers and our fans. There's not a day that goes by when
someone doesn't ask me about that play. The Catch allowed me
to enjoy the memory of that moment in elaborate detail."
-Dwight Clark, former All Pro 49er and on the receiving end of The
Catch
"Gary Myers brought me right back to The Catch game. It's one of
those games that I will remember where I was when it happened. It
was really the first time you held Joe Montana with such reverence,
Bill Walsh first became a genius, the 49ers began a dynasty and the
end began for Tom Landry. Gary Myers took me back to Candlestick
Park and allowed me to relive such great memories of Montana
throwing the ball, Ed Jones looming in front of him and Dwight
Clark making an impossible leap. This is a book that will stick
with you forever."
-Pat Summerall, legendary football announcer
"Gary Myers has always been uncompromising when it comes to getting
things right. And in The Catch, he's once again spot-on in
capturing the essence, flavor, and magnitude of one of the most
compelling and dramatic games in NFL history. All in all, its
perspective on how one game altered the paths of two storied
franchises and the sport itself, so richly told, makes The
Catch a terrific read."
-Al Michaels, NBC
"Standing on the sidelines when Joe Montana connected with Dwight
Clark for The Catch, I knew right away this was a special game.
What nobody could have guessed is that the 1981 NFC Championship
game was about to turn the NFL sideways. What Gary Myers brings to
life are the characters at Candlestick Park that day, so many of
them still so familiar almost thirty years later. But many of their
stories have been far from familiar . . . until now. A watershed
game becomes even more momentous!"
-Chris Berman, ESPN
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