If you haven't already read the remarkable Sports Illustrated piece by Chris Ballard chronicling the gathering in April that former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. hosted for legendary receiver Dwight Clark, I encourage you to do so.
Clark, who was honored by the 49ers in front of fans at Levi's Stadium in October, is battling ALS and has seen his physique deteriorate in recent months.
DeBartolo gathered former 49ers players, teammates, coaches, and staffers for three days to share memories and laughs with Clark. Some of the players in attendance were teammates while others, like Garrison Hearst and Kevin Gogan, were those he helped bring to the 49ers during his time as a team executive.
Former 49ers president Carmen Policy joined KNBR on Friday morning and discussed the gathering for Clark. DeBartolo called Policy and told him he felt the need to move the reunion, which was originally slated for the summer, up to April.
"What are you doing on the 22nd of April?" DeBartolo asked.
"Whatever you're telling me I'm doing," Policy answered.
DeBartolo felt that Clark might not enjoy the gathering as much if they waited until the summer. He worked to get the notices out, and just about everybody committed to attending.
"[Clark's] spirit, when he's surrounded by his guys, it's enlightening," Policy said. "It's kind of inspiring because when you see the debilitation that he's suffering from physically, and then those eyes start sparkling, and that smile comes on, and his speech is strained, but he'll use some of those phrases that you know so well, that are so Dwight Clark, including some of the words he uses and the pronunciations.
"No one swears like Dwight Clark. A Southerner has a way of swearing that is so much more effective than somebody who grows up in the north. That's a fact."
On the second day of the reunion, DeBartolo shared a video highlighting Clark's life. It wasn't a low-production video either. DeBartolo commissioned NFL Films to put it together, and good friend Huey Lewis performed the narration.
"The video just takes you to unbelievable heights and then it brings you down to tears," Policy said. "You're laughing your head off. I pray to God that there's a way that it's going to be broadcast. That's special."
While it may have initially seemed like the group was gathering with Clark for one last time for a somber few days, that wasn't the feeling coming out of the reunion.
"It was like we were celebrating Dwight's anniversary to some movie star or something like that," Policy said. "It was one laugh after another."
Policy went on to describe the overall feeling after the gathering.
"We went there for Dwight, but I think all of us who were there became the biggest beneficiaries," he said. "Because it was like, here's the final piece of this puzzle, and now you see the big picture, and you fully understand what we were all about, what it was all about, and how we really truly do have something that's very special.
"I think I'm quoting Eddie when I say look at any sports team over the last four decades. I don't think you'll find one that has quite what we have."
You can listen to the entire interview with Policy below.
