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January 10, 2012: The Thirtieth Anniversary Of The Catch

The San Francisco 49ers have plenty to deal with heading into this Saturday's NFC Divisional Round matchup with the New Orleans Saints. While there is plenty to discuss and analyze heading into that game, that doesn't mean we can't still have a little fun.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of The Catch. It is one of the most famous plays in NFL history and marks the turnaround of the 49ers from struggling franchise to Team of the '80s. The hiring of Bill Walsh, the drafting of Joe Montana and a variety of other events were essential, but this is that one moment when things changed.

The Cowboys were the team to beat year in and year out in the NFC and this victory marked a changing of the guard. The 49ers had beat them handily during the regular season, but prior to 1981, the Cowboys had won five straight and seven of eight, including two playoff eliminations in 1970 and 1971.

Head after the jump to view entire drive leading up to The Catch with play-by-play coming from Vin Scully.