 Branch in 2019 | |||||||||
| No. 21 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1948-08-01)August 1, 1948 Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | August 3, 2019(2019-08-03) (aged 71) Bullhead City, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Worthing (Houston, Texas) | ||||||||
| College | Wharton County (1968–1969) Colorado (1970–1971) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1972: 4th round, 98th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Clifford Branch Jr. (August 1, 1948 – August 3, 2019) was an American professionalfootballwide receiver who played for theOakland /Los Angeles Raiders during his entire 14-yearNational Football League (NFL) career. He won three NFL championships with the Raiders inSuper Bowl XI,XV, andXVIII. He was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the1972 NFL draft after playingcollege football for theColorado Buffaloes. He was posthumously elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Branch attended college at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder, where he was asprinter on thetrack team and a receiver on the football team.[1] In football with theBuffaloes in1970, he caught 23 passes for 355 yards, had 22 carries for 119 yards and one touchdown. In1971, he had 13 catches for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns along with 9 carries for 235 yards and 4 touchdowns.[2]
In track, Branch set an NCAA championship meet record in the100 meters with a time of 10.0 seconds at the 1972 NCAA championships semifinal inEugene, Oregon. Branch placed 5th in the final with 10.1, and he said "My goal has always been to win the NCAA 100 meter championship. This is my last track meet, since I expect to sign a pro contract with the Oakland Raiders within the next two weeks."[3][4] He also posted a personal best of 20.5 seconds in the200 meters.[5] He graduated from Colorado in 1972.[1]
| Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 meters | 10.0 | Eugene, Oregon | June 2, 1972[5] |
| 200 meters | 20.5 | Boulder, Colorado | April 7, 1971[5] |
Branch was selected in the fourth round of the1972 NFL draft with the 98th overall pick by theOakland Raiders. He spent his entire 14-year NFL career with theOakland/Los Angeles Raiders, winning threeSuper Bowl rings inSuper Bowl XI,Super Bowl XV andSuper Bowl XVIII.
Branch had a slow start to his career, as his 1972 season consisted of one start in 14 games with three combined catches for 41 yards. 1973 was slightly better, as he caught 19 catches for 290 yards in total for three touchdowns. In the October 14 game against the San Diego Chargers, he caught his first touchdown pass, doing so on a pass fromKen Stabler in the 27–17 win.[6] His third season proved his moment. He caught 60 passes for 13 touchdowns and 1,092 yards (the former two were career highs). He went to the Pro Bowl while also being named First-team All-Pro, owing to him leading the league in yards, touchdowns, and yards per game as a receiver. In the postseason, he had his best game for the AFC Championship, where he caught nine passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, but the Raiders lost to thePittsburgh Steelers 24–13.[7] In his 22 games as a receiver in the postseason, it was the first of three 100-yard games and it was the most catches he had in said game.
Branch would have a four-year peak that resulted in Pro Bowl (four) and All-Pro selections (three), with the 1976 season resulting in a career high 1,111 yards to go with 12 touchdowns on 46 catches. That year, the Raiders won their first championship, and Branch caught nine combined passes in three games for under 50 yards each, but they still prevailed in the Super Bowl regardless.[8] In his final season of play with the Raiders in1985,[9] his season ended prematurely when he was placed on theinjured reserve list.[10] In1986, he again landed on the reserve list after suffering apulled hamstring during the preseason.[10]
After having caught 212 passes for 3,967 yards and 43 touchdowns in his first six years, Branch played the remaining eight seasons with steady but eventual decline. He caught at least 27 passes in seven of those years for at least 400 yards, with the 1980 season (44 catches, 858 yards, 7 touchdowns) being his last hit year.
On October 2,1983, Branch caught the longest pass by a Raider, as he caught a 99-yard pass fromJim Plunkett in the second quarter versus theWashington Redskins. It was his only catch in the 37–35 loss, but he remains the only Raider to catch a 99-yard pass.[11]
1983 would see the Los Angeles Raiders rather easily defeat Pittsburgh and Seattle in the AFC playoffs to make Super Bowl XVIII where they would play the defending champion Washington Redskins. Branch would catch 6 passes for 94 yards and score a touchdown in the Raiders 38–9 win, giving the Raiders their 3rd Super Bowl win for the franchise and Branch played in all 3 of them.[12] Branch finished his NFL career with 501 receptions for 8,685 yards and 67 touchdowns.[8][13] In 20 playoff contests, he compiled 73 receptions for 1,289 yards, an average of 17.7 yards per catch, and five touchdowns.[14] He held the NFL career playoff records for receptions and receiving yards,[15] which stood until they were broken byJerry Rice in 1993 and 1994, respectively, while with theSan Francisco 49ers.[16][17][18] Among his individual accolades were being selected to four consecutivePro Bowl teams (1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977), and three times being selected as a first-teamAll-Pro (1974, 1975, 1976).[19] In addition, he led the NFL in receiving yards once (1974) and receiving touchdowns twice (1974, 1976).[19]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| NFL record | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fum | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Lng | TD | |||
| 1972 | OAK | 14 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 19 | 0 | 2 |
| 1973 | OAK | 13 | 0 | 19 | 290 | 15.3 | 54 | 3 | 0 |
| 1974 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 60 | 1,092 | 18.2 | 67 | 13 | 1 |
| 1975 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 51 | 893 | 17.5 | 53 | 9 | 0 |
| 1976 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 46 | 1,111 | 24.2 | 88 | 12 | 0 |
| 1977 | OAK | 13 | 13 | 33 | 540 | 16.4 | 43 | 6 | 0 |
| 1978 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 49 | 709 | 14.5 | 41 | 1 | 2 |
| 1979 | OAK | 14 | 13 | 59 | 844 | 14.3 | 66 | 6 | 1 |
| 1980 | OAK | 16 | 15 | 44 | 858 | 19.5 | 86 | 7 | 0 |
| 1981 | OAK | 16 | 15 | 41 | 635 | 15.5 | 53 | 1 | 0 |
| 1982 | RAI | 9 | 9 | 30 | 575 | 19.2 | 51 | 4 | 0 |
| 1983 | RAI | 12 | 12 | 39 | 696 | 17.8 | 99 | 5 | 0 |
| 1984 | RAI | 14 | 14 | 27 | 401 | 14.9 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | RAI | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 183 | 150 | 501 | 8,685 | 17.3 | 99 | 67 | 6 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fum | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Lng | TD | |||
| 1972 | OAK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 | OAK | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 12 | 270 | 22.5 | 72 | 2 | 0 |
| 1975 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 7 | 145 | 20.7 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | OAK | 3 | 3 | 9 | 98 | 10.9 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 9 | 172 | 19.1 | 41 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980 | OAK | 4 | 4 | 11 | 201 | 18.3 | 48 | 2 | 0 |
| 1982 | RAI | 2 | 2 | 10 | 203 | 20.3 | 64 | 0 | 2 |
| 1983 | RAI | 3 | 3 | 14 | 192 | 13.7 | 50 | 1 | 1 |
| 1984 | RAI | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 22 | 18 | 73 | 1,289 | 17.7 | 72 | 5 | 4 | |
Branch played for theLos Angeles Cobras of theArena Football League in1988, their only season of existence.[13]
He was cited by theNFL Network as #5 on players not in thePro Football Hall of Fame, noted for his speed at the position of wide receiver while being overshadowed by receivers of his time like Pittsburgh rivalsLynn Swann,John Stallworth, and teammateFred Biletnikoff. Minus Swann (whose numbers were considerably lower), Branch had comparable statistics to each of those players as each have over 500 receptions and 8,000 yards.[20]
He was a nominee to thePro Football Hall of Fame, and was a semifinalist in 2004 and 2010. In 2011, theProfessional Football Researchers Association named Branch to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2011.[21]
On August 24, 2021, Branch was posthumously selected as the seniors finalist for thePro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022. On February 10, 2022, he was selected for enshrinement in thePro Football Hall of Fame.
Branch died on August 3, 2019, two days after his 71st birthday.[13][22] His body was found in a hotel room inBullhead City, Arizona. According to police, his death was due to natural causes based on an initial investigative report.[13]
He overtook Cliff Branch, formerly of the Raiders, who had 73 receptions in the postseason.
Rice also holds the career playoff receiving record with 78 catches and needs 67 yards (1,223 postseason) to surpass Cliff Branch (1,289) as the NFL's all-time leader.
San Francisco's Jerry Rice is the all-time leader with 1,306.
