GREENVILLE, S.C. — Clemson and San Francisco 49ers legend Dwight Clark was enshrined into the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame Thursday night at the Embassy Suites on Verdae in Greenville.

Clark is best remembered for what is known as the greatest catch in NFL history when he snagged Joe Montana’s fourth-quarter pass out of the air for the winning touchdown in the 49ers’ 28-27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC Championship Game.

The play is simply known as “The Catch.”

“After that play, Emerson Walls, the cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, said to Dwight, ‘You know you just beat America’s Team,'” Clark’s former Clemson teammate and friend Joe Bostic said. “Dwight responded the only way Dwight knew how. ‘Well, in two weeks you will be home with the rest of America watching us play in the Super Bowl.'”

The 49ers won the Super Bowl that year and then again three years later with Clark sill catching Montana’s passes. The former Clemson player went on to play All-Pro status in San Francisco and led the NFC in receptions in 1981 and ’82. He also went to several Pro Bowls and was the NFL Player of the Year at one point.

“In my opinion, he had the greatest career of any former Tiger from our era,” Bostic said.

Because he is back in San Francisco battling ALS, Clark could not attend Thursday’s enshrinement ceremony and asked Bostic, who played in the NFL for 11 seasons, to fill in and accept his award for him.