# Cliff Branch

**Cliff Branch** was an American professional football player, a wide receiver who spent his entire 14-season NFL career (1972–1985) with the Oakland/[Los Angeles Raiders](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-raiders) and was elected to the [Pro Football Hall of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/pro-football-hall-of-fame) in 2022. A world-class sprinter at the University of Colorado, he set an NCAA championship meet record with a 10-second 100-meter dash in 1972 and brought that speed to the Raiders, where he became one of the leading deep threats of the 1970s and won three [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) rings.<sup>[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/players/cliff-branch/)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Career | 14 seasons (1972–1985), all with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders; 501 catches for 8,685 yards and 67 touchdowns, averaging 17.3 yards per reception<sup>[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/players/cliff-branch/)</sup> |
| Draft | Fourth round, 98th overall, 1972 NFL Draft<sup>[2](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BranCl00.htm)</sup> |
| Peak seasons | Led the NFL with 1,092 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in 1974; in 1976 had 46 catches for a career-high 1,111 yards and an NFL-best 24.2 yards per catch<sup>[3](https://www.raiders.com/history/cliff-branch)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2024/LV.pdf)</sup> |
| Championships | Three Super Bowl victories, in Super Bowls XI, XV, and XVIII<sup>[3](https://www.raiders.com/history/cliff-branch)</sup> |
| Honors | First-team All-Pro 1974–1976; four Pro Bowls<sup>[3](https://www.raiders.com/history/cliff-branch)</sup> |
| Playoffs | 73 catches for 1,289 yards (17.7 average) in 22 playoff games, both NFL records at the time of his retirement<sup>[3](https://www.raiders.com/history/cliff-branch)</sup> |
| Hall of Fame | Elected as a senior candidate in the Class of 2022; enshrined posthumously on August 6, 2022<sup>[2](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BranCl00.htm)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.raiders.com/news/cliff-branch-enshrined-in-pro-football-hall-of-fame-class-of-2022-nfl)</sup> |

## Speed and college career

Branch played football and ran track at the University of Colorado. As a sprinter he set an NCAA championship meet record with a 10-second 100-meter dash in 1972, and the Hall of Fame profile describes him as a world-class sprinter as well as a standout football player.<sup>[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/players/cliff-branch/)</sup> He graduated from Colorado in 1972 and was selected by the [Oakland Raiders](https://www.edgepedia.org/oakland-raiders) in the fourth round, 98th overall, of that year's NFL Draft.<sup>[6](https://www.raiders.com/news/cliff-branch-s-endorsement-for-the-pro-football-hall-of-fame-19121267)</sup>

## Raiders career

Branch's role grew steadily after a quiet rookie season of 3 catches for 41 yards in 1972. His breakout year came in 1974, when he earned a starting role and led the NFL with 1,092 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on a career-high 60 receptions.<sup>[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/players/cliff-branch/)</sup> His 1976 season featured a career-best 1,111 receiving yards on 46 receptions, 12 touchdowns, and an NFL-leading average of 24.2 yards per catch, and he topped the league in yards per game in 1974 (78.0) as well as 1976 (79.4).<sup>[4](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2024/LV.pdf)</sup> Over the three seasons from 1974 to 1976 he totaled 157 receptions for 3,096 yards and 34 touchdowns, the highest consecutive three-year total for any receiver in the 1970s, a decade that included eight future Hall of Famers.<sup>[4](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2024/LV.pdf)</sup>

Deep receiving was his signature. His career average of 17.3 yards per catch reflected a game built on big plays, and he led the Raiders in receiving yards six times (1974–1976, 1979, 1980, and 1982) and in touchdown receptions five times (1974–1977 and 1982).<sup>[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/players/cliff-branch/)</sup> The longest catch of his career, a 99-yard touchdown from quarterback [Jim Plunkett](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-plunkett) at Washington on October 2, 1983, set a Raiders record that still stood decades later.<sup>[7](https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-to-honor-pro-football-hall-of-famer-cliff-branch-at-halftime-nfl-week-13)</sup>

Branch played for Raiders teams that reached seven AFC Championship Games between 1973 and 1983 and appeared in three Super Bowls, winning each one: [Super Bowl XI](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xi), XV, and XVIII.<sup>[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/players/cliff-branch/)</sup> His postseason production was substantial: in [Super Bowl XV](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xv) he caught two touchdown passes in a 27–10 victory over the [Philadelphia Eagles](https://www.edgepedia.org/philadelphia-eagles), and in Super Bowl XVIII he had six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown in a 38–9 win over Washington.<sup>[4](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2024/LV.pdf)</sup> Across 22 playoff games he caught 73 passes for 1,289 yards, a 17.7-yard average, and both the catch and yardage totals were NFL records when he retired.<sup>[3](https://www.raiders.com/history/cliff-branch)</sup>

His career totals were 501 receptions for 8,685 yards and 67 touchdowns. Sources differ slightly on games played: the Raiders' Hall of Fame page and the NFL Record & Fact Book list 182 regular-season games,<sup>[3](https://www.raiders.com/history/cliff-branch)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2024/2024-Record-and-Fact-Book.pdf)</sup> while the Pro Football Hall of Fame media guide lists 183 games with 150 starts.<sup>[4](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2024/LV.pdf)</sup> He ranks third in Raiders history in receiving yards behind [Fred Biletnikoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-biletnikoff) and Tim Brown.<sup>[9](https://www.raiders.com/history/all-time-roster/bios-b/cliff-branch)</sup>

## Recognition and the Hall of Fame

Branch received first-team All-Pro recognition three consecutive seasons (1974–1976) and was voted to four Pro Bowls.<sup>[3](https://www.raiders.com/history/cliff-branch)</sup> Despite those credentials, his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame did not come during his lifetime. He was named a senior finalist for the Class of 2022, a category for players retired more than 25 years,<sup>[10](https://as.com/us/us/2021/12/31/nfl/1640908379_190888.html)</sup> and was elected in February 2022 alongside [Tony Boselli](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-boselli), LeRoy Butler, Sam Mills, Richard Seymour, Bryant Young, Art McNally, and [Dick Vermeil](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-vermeil).<sup>[11](https://as.com/us/us/2022/02/11/nfl/1644552548_689354.html)</sup>

Branch had died on August 3, 2019, at age 71; he was found in a hotel room in [Bullhead City, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/bullhead-city-arizona), and the initial investigation found no suspected foul play, attributing his death to natural causes.<sup>[12](https://www.nfl.com/news/raiders-receiving-great-cliff-branch-dies-at-71-0ap3000001038898)</sup> His enshrinement in [Canton, Ohio](https://www.edgepedia.org/canton-ohio), on August 6, 2022, came 37 years after his final season, and was posthumous: his sister Elaine Anderson and Raiders owner Mark Davis, a close friend, presented him, and Anderson delivered the enshrinement speech on his behalf.<sup>[5](https://www.raiders.com/news/cliff-branch-enshrined-in-pro-football-hall-of-fame-class-of-2022-nfl)</sup>

## Playing style and reputation

Contemporaries described Branch as a receiver whose speed changed how defenses played him. Nick Canepa, a longtime Pro Football Hall of Fame voter and veteran sportswriter at the San Diego Union-Tribune, said, "I could not talk to a cornerback in the NFL who didn't think Cliff Branch was the best receiver in the league."<sup>[6](https://www.raiders.com/news/cliff-branch-s-endorsement-for-the-pro-football-hall-of-fame-19121267)</sup> Hall of Fame writer Ray Didinger called him "a game-changing kind of receiver."<sup>[13](https://raiderramble.com/2017/05/25/cliff-branch-case-nfl-hall-fame/)</sup> His modest catch totals by later standards, 46 to 60 receptions in his best seasons, reflected the running-oriented offenses of the 1970s, and commentators arguing for his induction noted that the expanded 16-game schedule and higher passing volumes of later eras made his stat lines look smaller than his production was.<sup>[14](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/10-hall-of-fame-worthy-nfl-wide-receivers-not-named-julian-edelman/)</sup>

## References

1. [Cliff Branch, Pro Football Hall of Fame](https://www.profootballhof.com/players/cliff-branch/)
2. [Cliff Branch Stats, Pro-Football-Reference.com](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BranCl00.htm)
3. [Cliff Branch, Hall of Fame, Raiders.com](https://www.raiders.com/history/cliff-branch)
4. [Pro Football Hall of Fame section, 2024 Las Vegas Raiders Media Guide, NFL.com](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2024/LV.pdf)
5. [Cliff Branch enshrined in Pro Football Hall of Fame, Raiders.com](https://www.raiders.com/news/cliff-branch-enshrined-in-pro-football-hall-of-fame-class-of-2022-nfl)
6. [Cliff Branch's Endorsement for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Raiders.com](https://www.raiders.com/news/cliff-branch-s-endorsement-for-the-pro-football-hall-of-fame-19121267)
7. [Raiders to honor Pro Football Hall of Famer Cliff Branch at halftime, Raiders.com](https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-to-honor-pro-football-hall-of-famer-cliff-branch-at-halftime-nfl-week-13)
8. [Pro Football Hall of Fame section, 2024 NFL Record and Fact Book](https://static.www.nfl.com/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2024/2024-Record-and-Fact-Book.pdf)
9. [Cliff Branch, All-Time Roster, Raiders.com](https://www.raiders.com/history/all-time-roster/bios-b/cliff-branch)
10. [Finalistas del Pro Football Hall of Fame de 2022 son anunciados, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2021/12/31/nfl/1640908379_190888.html)
11. [NFL anuncia a los integrantes de la Clase 2022 del Pro Football Hall of Fame, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2022/02/11/nfl/1644552548_689354.html)
12. [Raiders receiving great Cliff Branch dies at 71, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/raiders-receiving-great-cliff-branch-dies-at-71-0ap3000001038898)
13. [Raiders WR Cliff Branch: The Case for the Hall of Fame, Raider Ramble](https://raiderramble.com/2017/05/25/cliff-branch-case-nfl-hall-fame/)
14. [10 Hall of Fame-Worthy NFL Wide Receivers, Pro Football Network](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/10-hall-of-fame-worthy-nfl-wide-receivers-not-named-julian-edelman/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Wide receivers › Retired NFL wide receivers*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license