By: Piper Johnson
(San Jose, Calif. May 26, 2026)—Football season is right around the corner, and you can tell because the unofficial start of OTA’s are normally right after the Dwight Clark Legacy Series.
This past Wednesday, The Dwight Clark Legacy Series took place at the Hammer Theatre in San Jose. Each year, The DCLS commemorates the amazing career of 49ers legendary TE Dwight Clark, a foundation created to raise money for the Golden Heart Fund (www.goldenheartfund.org) and the REACH Youth Scholarship (www.sjsa.org). The GHF is a non-profit organization created by 49ers players, supporting players and staff after their career who may have fallen into various hardships.
This year, the main panel featured a battle of the trenches theme titled “Iron Sharpens Iron” where both former offensive and defensive linemen battled it out one last time–but this time in a war of stories and experiences. The offensive lineman included Harris Barton, Randy Cross, Derrick Deese with the defensive line headed by recent Hall of Fame inductee Bryant Young, Brenston Bucker and Dwaine (Pee Wee) Board.
The main event before the show saw a live auction in the VIP area on the roof deck of the Hammer Theatre. Players engaged with fans, taking pictures and signing autographs. I oversaw gathering and escorting some the legends for media interview obligations with both television stations and podcasts.
After all the interviews, Brock Purdy and Dwight Clark Award recipient Kyle Juszczyk arrived.
The crowd filled the theatre and the show was ready to begin. The show was led off by Purdy delivering the “State of the Team” segment of the show.
“Obviously, it’s far,” said Purdy, referencing opening the season in Australia. “All of the guys are excited in terms of going and playing an NFL game in Australia, it’s never been done before. It is nice that it is the first game of the year. We finish training camp and head out and get acclimated out there. Start off the season strong with a win in Australia and create more fans across the world. More faithful.”
Next former Super Bowl winning center Randy Cross emerged and presented Jusczcyk as the prestigious 2026 Dwight Clark Award, recognizing the current player who embodies teamwork, toughness, and selflessness that defined Dwight Clark.
“In this industry the two biggest compliments you can get is that guy is a football player and that guy is a great teammate,” said Jusczcyk.
“Dwight was known for being an incredible teammate and that is important to me, when you set out to do this job as a football player, all you want the respect of the guys in the locker room. To earn that, especially with the locker room that we have, to earn their respect and to do it for an organization like San Francisco means so much to me.”
The “Iron Sharpens Iron” panel closed the show, where players like Deese, Cross, Barton, Buckner, Board and Young brought the crowd to tears with their hilarious banter.
“It is extremely important for me to be here,” said Young. “Dwight was apart of my life and career. For me to be here to support this wonderful cause and be part of this panel is awesome. It is important that I give back to the legacy that he has created.”
The DCLS event was great and raised more than $91,000K for the Golden Heart Fund and the REACH Youth Scholarship Award.
(Editor’s Note: Piper Johnson is currently a 13-year-old Public Relations intern with the San Francisco 49ers whose father has worked several years for both the Raiders & 49ers organizations.)
