Cliff Branch obit

CU Buffs great Cliff Branch, an All-Pro with the Raiders, dead at age 71

He was not on the list.

Cliff Branch, a Colorado University Buffaloes great and one of the Oakland Raiders’ career-leading wide receivers who won three Super Bowls in 14 seasons with the franchise, has died. He was 71.

Branch was found dead Saturday in a hotel room in Bullhead City, Ariz., the city’s police department said. It said an initial investigation revealed no foul play and that Branch died of natural causes.

“Cliff Branch touched the lives of generations of Raiders fans,” the Raiders said in a statement on their website. “His loss leaves an eternal void for the Raiders Family, but his kindness and loving nature will be fondly remembered forever.”

Branch played a major role in the Buffs’ 10-2 season in 1971, which included wins over LSU and Ohio State in the first three weeks. He was named first-team All-American wide receiver by the Football News, as well as the Buffs’ most valuable player. CU finished the season ranked No. 3, behind Big 8 rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Branch finished with 16 career touchdowns in two seasons at CU. In 22 games he amassed 2.507 yards on 141 touches. That included 36 receptions for 665 yards in addition to four kick return touchdowns.

“Cliff was easily one of the best two-sport athletes we’ve ever had at Colorado,” CU athletic director Rick George said in a news release. “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.”

Only three former Buffs played longer in the NFL than Branch — Stan Brock and Mitch Berger (16 years each) and Chad Brown (15 seasons).

Mike Davis, another CU alum who played four years after Branch graduated from Boulder, was his teammate for eight years with the Raiders (1978-85). The two battled against each other on a daily basis at practice, with Davis at defensive back.

“Cliff lived life, Cliff loved life he was a special person,” Davis said in a CU release. “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.”


One of the pro game’s top deep threats from 1972 to 1985 in Oakland and Los Angeles, Branch was an All-Pro three straight seasons (1974-76) and made four Pro Bowls. He scored 67 touchdowns through the air, leading the NFL in TD receptions in 1974 with 13 and in 1076 with 12. Branch also had a league-high 1,092 yards receiving in 1974.

He was a force in the postseason, with 1,289 yards receiving. The Raiders won Super Bowls after the 1976, 1980 and 1983 seasons — the last one in Los Angeles, where the franchise moved in 1982 after protracted court fights before returning to the Bay Area in 1995.


In 1983, Branch tied the NFL record with a 99-yard touchdown catch in a regular-season game. He stands third among Raiders pass catchers in yards receiving with 8,685, trailing Tim Brown and Fred Biletnikoff — both Hall of Famers.

Branch was a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004 and 2010.

“All my peers that I played against and that are in the Hall of Fame, they tell me that I deserve to be in the Hall of Fame,” Branch told the Raiders’ website in a recent interview. “It’s the crowning glory, just like getting a Super Bowl ring.”