CU Hall Of Famer Cliff Branch Passes Away

(Click here to see The Raider's YouTube promo for Cliff for the Pro Football Hall of Fame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O00TpMaXB8&feature=player_embedded&app=desktop.)

                BOULDER — Cliff Branch, one of – if not the – most electrifying players in the University of Colorado football history, passed away from natural causes in Bullhead City, Ariz., on Saturday. He had just turned 71 last Thursday (August 1).

                He had arrived in Arizona the previous day for a trade show, which he spent many summers doing since he retired from football.

                "Cliff was easily one of the best two-sport athletes we've ever had at Colorado," CU athletic director Rick George said. "A great receiver in a rushing-dominated offense, one of the greatest kick returners to ever play the game and an accomplished performer and world record holder on the track. This is truly a sad day in our history and our thoughts are with his son Brent and his family."

                A first-team All-American by the Football News as a senior in 1971 (honorable mention by the Associated Press), he was the recipient of the Zack Jordan Award as CU's most valuable player that season. He played a pivotal role in the team's 10-2 record, which including road wins at LSU and Ohio State in the first three weeks of the year, in which after the bowl games, the Buffaloes finished as the nation's No. 3 team, behind conference rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma.

                Branch scored touchdowns via receiving, rushing, punt return and kickoff return (16 total) over his two-year career in Boulder (1970-71). In 22 games, he had 141 touches for 2,507 yards, or 17.8 yards per play. He caught 36 passes for 665 yards (18.5 per), while averaging 11.4 yards for 31 rushes, 16.7 yards for 44 punt returns and 25.2 yards for 30 kickoff returns. He had four scores by kick returns in both 1970 and 1971, still CU records, as are his six career punt return touchdowns.

                The Oakland Raiders drafted him in the fourth round of the 1972 National Football League draft (98th pick overall); the team released the following statement:

                "Cliff Branch touched the lives of generations of Raiders fans. His loss leaves an eternal void for the Raiders Family, but his kindness and loving nature will be fondly remembered forever. Cliff's on-field accomplishments are well documented and undeniably Hall of Fame worthy, but his friendship and smile are what the Raider Nation will always cherish."

                In his 14-year NFL League career, all with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, he played in 183 regular season games, with 501 receptions for 8,685 yards and 67 touchdowns; that 17.3 yards per catch is seldom achieved in today's offenses. He is one of only six players to be a member of all three Raider Super Bowl champion teams (1976, 1980, 1983), combining for 14 catches for 181 yards and three TDs in those title games.

                In 22 overall postseason games (in which the Raiders posted a 15-7 record), he caught 73 passes for 1,289 yards and five scores, averaging 17.7 per reception. He also returned kicks as a rookie in 1972 before he became a permanent fixture in the starting lineup, and was a four-time NFL All-Pro selection (1974-75-76-77).

                The only Buffalo alums who played longer in the NFL were Stan Brock and Mitch Berger (16 years each) and Chad Brown (15 seasons). They all played on multiple teams; Branch's 14 seasons with the Raider franchise are the most by a Buffalo on one team, topping Brock's 13 on New Orleans and Pete Brock's 12 on New England (the second-most by a CU alum on just one team in his NFL career).

                Mike Davis, who also was a CU letterman but four years after Branch graduated from CU, would eventually be his teammate for eight years with the Raiders (1978-85). As a defensive back, he would go against Branch in practice on a daily basis.

                "Cliff lived life, Cliff loved life he was a special person," Davis said. "Cliff treated me as an equal, he looked out for me when I was a young pro player, and once I grew I realized what a special man he is and was. He never said no to charities, always showing up at golf tournaments with his big smile and happy go lucky way, the center of all the fun.

                "As an athlete, Cliff was fanatical in his preparations in practice and in games," Davis continued. "Extremely focused and could get open on any defensive back, then tell them, 'you can't cover me!' True, I heard him tell the DB, number 37 for the Atlanta Falcons in 1982, he was going to run a streak on him. Cliff did and scored – vintage Cliff. This was the fire of competition that burned red hot in Cliff on game days, but all the while he was cool, calm and collected in his demeanor."

                That play Davis referred to came in a 38-14 win over Atlanta in week two of the strike-shortened '82 season. Branch caught six passes for 138 yards in that game, including a 30-yard TD reception from Jim Plunkett; the corner that tried to cover him all game was Kenny Johnson. He also had a 47-yard grab in that game.

                 "Clifford Branch is well loved by all who ever met him and by fans that never did," added Davis. "Love you my Buff Brother – you will be missed dearly."

                Branch's personal motto was "speed kills," and was tutored as a rookie by Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff, to whom he referred to as "father." In his third year in the league, he led the NFL in receiving yards (1,092) and touchdowns (13). He again led the league in scores in 1976 (12), averaging a gaudy 24.2 yards per catch (46 for 1,111 yards). Toward the end of his career, he tied the longest receiving play in NFL history, a catch-and-run 99-yard TD pass, also from Plunkett, against Washington in 1983.

                Scouring articles on the Internet, the consensus (if not unanimous) opinion is that Branch is one of the greatest Pro Football Hall of Fame snubs of all time.

                He came out of retirement in 1988 to play one season with the Los Angeles Cobras of the Arena Football League, the team's only year of existence.

                Branch competed for several years in the International Pro Track Association. As a sprinter and relay team performer at CU, he set the NCAA record in the 100-meter run with a 10.0 time in the 1972 national outdoor semifinals (he ran a 10.1 in the final to finish fifth); his best time in the 200 was a 20.5 recorded in Boulder the previous year.

                In October 2017, Branch lost his home in the Santa Rosa, Calif., wildfires; he managed to escape with his Super Bowl rings but little else, including all of his CU and Raiders memorabilia. He was maintaining an apartment in California but was planning to move to Las Vegas when the Raiders relocate there next season.

                Branch was inducted in to CU's Athletic Hall of Fame in its eighth class in the fall of 2010. He was the 14th football player at the time to be selected for induction, though that count included three others who were multiple sport performers. He was second receiver to be inducted, behind only the late Frank Clarke, who went in with the seventh class in 2008.

                He is survived by his three children, sons Brent and Anthony and daughter Melanie; sisters Cheryl and Elaine and a brother Edwin; and two grandchildren, Brentney and Courtni.

UPDATE: A memorial service has been set for Saturday, August 17 at 11:00 a.m. CDT at Jones Memorial Methodist Church in Houston, Texas (2504 Almeda Genoa Road, Houston, TX 77047; https://joneshigherwayumc.com/).

We asked Brent, his oldest son, to share his thoughts on his father. Brent followed in his footsteps and was a member of the Buffs under Bill McCartney in the late 1980s.

"Growing up, I never quite understood or knew exactly how gifted my father was as an athlete. I would often hear people talk about his high school track accolades and quite a few stories of his game breaking performances on the gridiron. I also wondered how did my dad become so fast. He often told me it came natural. I remember when I was in junior high (8th grade), my dad took me and my two younger cousins (Sohn Reed and Corey Harrison) to the UIL (University Interscholastic League) Texas State Track and Field Championships.

"My dad was still playing professional football at the time. This I believe was in 1983. I met my dad's former high school football coach who also doubled as his high school sprint coach. Oliver "Showboat" Brown was his name. I shook Mr. Brown's hand and listened to the two of them reminisce. They talked about how Coach Brown would tie his athletes to a rope and attach the rope to the back of his vehicle. Kids that didn't keep up would get drug around the dirt gravel track surface. That my dad believe was the start of what lead to his electrifying speed.

"Anybody that I met that knew my father would mention how our mannerisms were identical. They referenced our walk, our laugh or personality and smile. As I got older and watched my father I could see what people were telling me. I could even predict how my father would comment or react to things because it would normally be a reaction that I would have chosen. My father was someone who was very personable and quite generous. He always made time to sign autographs no matter how many people were in line or asked. He always made it a point ask people their names and would often attempt to carry a conversation beyond a hello and goodbye, something that I have maintained in my life. I can't recall a time he didn't pay the bills for dinner, even when complete strangers joined in. My father never followed the general rule when it came to gratitude for anything. It was always something 50 to 100 percent more.

"My father was someone who was extremely opened minded. I could always come to him to discuss difficult matters. He was fairly level-headed and never someone to pass critical judgments. He was never a fault finder. Something that I know who obtained from his mom, Hattie Mae Jack, my late grandmother.

"We know the NFL Hall of Fame is right around the corner. Sorry you didn't get a chance to enjoy the many experiences that come with the induction. Love you Dad/CB Jr. You will be missed."

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