How Dianne Feinstein helped the 49ers make 'The Catch' happen

By Alex Simon
SFGATE.com

Dianne Feinstein’s legacy as a San Francisco titan was, to some extent, bolstered by the San Francisco 49ers’ 1980s dynasty.

But what many people may not know about that era’s most famous game is that Feinstein, who died late Thursday at age 90, had a hand in making sure that “The Catch” happened at all.

In an interview published January 2022 with Jackson Michael’s “The Game Before the Money” podcast, which looks back at the history of football, NFL groundskeeper George Toma said that Feinstein, then mayor of San Francisco, had a direct hand in making sure that Candlestick Park’s football field was ready for the 1981 NFC title game against the hated Dallas Cowboys.

“She was down there, with mud up to her boots and everything,” Toma said. “It rained every day, she’d be down on that field with her raincoat, her rain hat and boots, trying to help us.”

Read more: https://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/dianne-feinstein-the-catch-candlestick-park-kezar-18397132.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-Editors-Picks