Dublin's Justin Peelle Now a Part of 49ers History

If you’re like me, you spent a good five minutes Saturday jumping around after San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis made “The Grab” to give the team a 36-32 win in the NFC playoffs. 

The historic moment was quickly etched into 49ers lore as one of its most important. 

Strangers embraced, Twitter went wild and Dublin’s Justin Peelle had the best view of it all.

Peelle, a 1997 graduate and seldom-used 49ers tight end, lined up next to Davis on the final play. He ran a 5-yard curl, which briefly drew the attention of New Orleans linebacker Scott Shanle away from Davis, and was the first to embrace Davis when he made the game-winning catch the end zone.

Go back and watch it again.

Wearing No. 81, a number already closely associated with famous 49ers catches, Peelle hurdled a Saints defender and grabbed Davis with both arms. A guy who never played organized football until he arrived as a student at Dublin High will show up on 49ers highlights reels for decades.

When he , it figured to be a nice free agent pickup for the 49ers.

First-year coach Jim Harbaugh had a history of using multiple tight ends at Stanford and Peelle’s history as a solid blocker made him an ideal No. 3 at the position behind Vernon David and Delanie Walker.

At the time, it seemed like Peelle was coming back to the Bay Area to finish out a solid career. During the regular season, he contributed in the run game, but made just one catch.

He adder another catch in Saturday’s game, but will always be tied to “The Grab.”

Dublin should be proud.

Dublin Patch interviewed Peelle in September about his opportunity to play with the 49ers. You can read that interview . 

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Follow Kyle Bonagura on Twitter