Cliff Branch made trouble for Buckeyes, Browns on his way to Pro Football Hall of Fame
Ten quick notes on Class of 2022 Hall of Famer Cliff Branch.
- Branch and fellow Colorado alumnus Dave Logan, an outstanding Browns receiver, squared off in two games to remember.
The 1979 Browns, who began to be known as the "Kardiac Kids," had a chance to improve to 10-5 by winning at Oakland. The Raiders led wire to wire, striking first on a 38-yard TD pass from Ken Stabler to Branch.
Branch made a game-high six catches in a 19-14 Raider win. Logan led the Browns with five.
The next season was capped by the Browns-Raiders playoff game known as "Red Right 88."
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Logan and Branch each caught two passes in brutal cold. A trip to the AFC finals rode on a last-second play on which Logan broke open in the end zone. Quarterback Brian Sipe instead threw toward Ozzie Newsome, and Mike Davis intercepted as a 14-12 Raider lead stood up as the final score.
Later that postseason, Branch made two touchdown catches in a 27-10 win over Dick Vermeil's Eagles in Super Bowl XV.
Cliff Branch starred in football, track for Colorado Buffaloes
- Branch helped the Colorado Buffaloes stun Woody Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes the first time the programs ever collided.
He returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown in Colorado's 20-14 upset at No. 6 Ohio State early in the 1971 season. The programs had never collided.
The following spring, Branch set an NCAA track record by running the 100-meter dash in 10.0 seconds. Branch might have won Olympic gold had he focused on track.
He was a rookie in the Raiders' training camp during 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Valeiy Borzov of the Soviet Union won the 100 in 10.14 seconds. Canton's Dave Wottle took gold in the 800 at those Olympics.
Since losing to Branch's team, Ohio State is 4-0 against Colorado.
- As a senior in the '71 season, Branch was MVP on a team that went 10-2, reaching 10 wins for the first time in program history. The only losses were to No. 2 Oklahoma in Game 6 and No. 1 Nebraska in Game 8. Nebraska's big star was receiver Johnny Rodgers, who won the Heisman Trophy.
Branch didn't get tons of touches that season but got everyone's attention when he did. He ran nine times for 235 yards (26.1 average), caught 13 passes for 330 yards (25.4), and completed two passes for 88 yards.
Across three years as a Colorado return man, he scored six times on punts and twice on kickoffs.
- Al Davis' Raiders got lucky in drafting Branch at No. 98 overall in 1972. The Raiders actually spent their first-round pick on another receiver, taking Villanova's Mike Siani at No. 21 overall.
In 1972 and '73, Siani started ahead of Branch alongside Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff. In that span, Siani caught 73 passes for 1,238 yards to Branch's 22 catches for 331 yards.
The 5-foot-11 Branch moved ahead of the 6-2 Siani in 1974, catching 60 passes for a league-best 1,092 yards and 13 TDs. Siani remained in the picture through 1977 as a backup.
- The first wideout drafted in 1972 was Oregon's Bobby Moore (No. 4 overall, Cardinals). He later changed his name to Ahmad Rashad. In one stretch, Rashad went to four straight Pro Bowls with the Vikings.
When their NFL careers were over, Branch had 8,685 receiving yards, Rashad had 6,831, and Siani had 2,618.
- Branch played for two Hall of Fame head coaches, John Madden from 1972-78 and Tom Flores from 1979-85.
Flores was Branch's position coach for seven years before serving as his head coach for seven years after Madden retired.
Flores told writer Clark Judge in 2019:
"I spent a week with Cliff in Colorado when we drafted him. He was running track and getting ready to run in the Olympic trials in the 100. He was a track guy that could play football.
“I nursed him. I held his hand. I spanked him. I hugged him. In his first year, he was booed. Second year, booed. Third year made All-Pro and from then on he was outstanding."
- Branch caught passes from a colorful trio of Raider quarterbacks, Daryle "The Mad Bomber" Lamonica, Ken "The Snake" Stabler and 1970 Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett.
Lamonica had a 72-23-6 record with the Raiders, including 6-7 in the postseason. Stabler was the primary starter for about half of Branch's career, posting a 75-31-1 record (6-5 postseason) from 1972-79.
Stabler was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2016, a year after he died. Lamonica, who died on April 21, 2022, has received consideration for the Hall, as has the 74-year-old Plunkett.
In Plunkett's four best seasons with the Raiders (1980, '82, '83 and '85) his record was 40-9, including 8-2 in the playoffs, with wins in two Super Bowls.
- At various points, Branch was a teammate of 12 Raiders who are in the Hall of Fame.
The group includes center Jim Otto (elected in 1980), cornerback Willie Brown (1984), guard Gene Upshaw (1987), receiver Fred Biletnikoff (1988), tackle Art Shell (1989), linebacker Ted Hendricks (1990), cornerback Mike Haynes (1997), defensive end Howie Long (2000), tight end Dave Casper (2002), running back Marcus Allen (2003), punter Ray Guy (2014), and quarterback Ken Stabler (2016).
- The Raiders cultivated an outlaw image before, during and after Branch's 14-year run with the team.
"We're definitely not America's team," Branch told Washington Post writer Tony Kornheiser before the 1983 Super Bowl.
- Then-head coach Jon Guden paid tribute shortly after Branch's death in 2019, when the Raiders were in training camp:
“He’s a good friend of mine and always has been over the years," Gruden said. "He’s a good friend to everybody. I never saw Cliff Branch when he was down. He was always upbeat. He was a great player, and I think our guys had a good respect for who he was.”
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Cleveland Browns, Ohio State Buckeyes got to know Cliff Branch well
