On the weekend of April 22, former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo put together a gathering for 49ers legend Dwight Clark at his house in White Fish, Montana, inviting 25 former players and staff members to visit with Clark, who continues to battle amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – a disease without a cure.
One of those in attendance was former 49ers President Carmen Policy, who caught up with Murph & Mac on Friday morning, and recounted what seemed to be an incredibly special two-day trip.
“I don’t know that a parent could show more respect, affection, care, true dedication to a son or a daughter, than Eddie has shown to some of his players,” Policy began. “It’s just incredible.
“Eddie always appreciated what his players did for the team and he took it as what they did for themselves, for their family, and for him, and he shows that appreciation in almost everything that he does.
“First of all, Eddie had mentioned to some of us that he wanted to have a really upbeat and uproarious gathering up there in Montana, sometime during the summer. The weather will get great, Dwight will be settled in his new place, and by the way, Eddie’s watching out for him and (Dwight’s wife) Kelly and taking pretty good care of them up there, and if Eddie’s not there, Eddie’s staff watches out for them.”
DeBartolo had initially planned to hold the event later in the summer, but worried that Clark’s condition might have made things more difficult by that point. He decided to call an audible.
“Then I got a call, I’d say the 10th of April and Eddie said ‘look, I just think I’m going to have to move this up. I’m going to have to get us together much earlier, what are you doing on the 22nd of April?’” Policy said. “I said, ‘whatever you’re telling me I’m doing.’ He says ‘I’m going to get some guys together, let’s get everybody up here to Montana. I think Dwight may not enjoy it as much if we wait until sometime in the summer.’ So he moved it up and put out some notices, and everybody, just about everybody came together and said ‘we’re there. Count us in.’
“His spirit when he’s surrounded by his guys it’s enlightening,” Policy said of Clark. “It’s kind’ve inspiring when you see the debilitation that he’s suffering physically, and then those eyes start sparkling, and then that smile comes on, and his speech is strained, but he’ll use 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.”
Policy said the most special part of the two-day gathering is when everyone got together to watch a film that DeBartolo had made documenting Clark’s life and career.
“The best, best, best night was the second night, when Dwight saw that video that was done by NFL Films specifically for an event that Eddie was going to have, and he saw that Huey (Lewis) narrated it, and the video just takes you to unbelievable heights, and then it brings you down to tears, and then you’re laughing your head off. I pray to god it’s going to be broadcast.
“We went there for Dwight, but I think all of us became the biggest beneficiaries. Here’s the final piece of this puzzle and now you’ll see the big picture and fully understand what we were all about, what it was all about, and how we really truly do something that’s very special. I think I’m quoting Eddie when I’m saying, look at any sports team over the last four decades, find one that has quite what we have. You’ve heard of Camelot, I think the 49ers under Eddie and Bill Walsh and eventually George Seifert, came as close to Camelot as you could come.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Policy on Dwight Clark, start from the beginning.