Cliff Branch
A blisteringly fast wide receiver whose deep-threat prowess defined the Raiders' vertical offense and helped secure three Super Bowl championships.
1948–2019 (age 71)·American football player·Birthday: August 1·Baby Boomers
Biography
Cliff Branch was pure speed in silver and black, a weapon who stretched defenses and embodied the Raiders' renegade spirit for 14 seasons. Before his NFL stardom, he was a track star at the University of Colorado, and that world-class pace translated instantly to the football field. Teaming with quarterback Ken Stabler, Branch became the premier deep threat of his era, forcing safeties to play twenty yards off the line of scrimmage. His consistency was remarkable, leading the league in receiving touchdowns twice and earning four Pro Bowl selections. More than just a regular-season marvel, he delivered on the biggest stages, scoring touchdowns in three different Super Bowl victories. For years, his Hall of Fame candidacy was debated; the honor finally came posthumously in 2022, a rightful enshrinement for a player whose game-breaking speed was central to a football dynasty.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Cliff was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Cliff Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Cliff's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2019Died at 71
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
Key Achievements
- Won three Super Bowls with the Raiders (XI, XV, XVIII), catching a touchdown pass in each victory.
- Led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 1974 (13) and 1976 (12).
- Selected to four Pro Bowls (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977) and was a three-time First-team All-Pro.
- Posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Did You Know?
He was a standout sprinter at the University of Colorado, running a 9.3-second 100-yard dash.
He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1972 NFL Draft, the same draft where the Raiders selected Hall of Fame guard Gene Upshaw in the first round.
He caught a 72-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl XV, which was the longest play from scrimmage in the game at that time.
“You can't coach speed. You either have it or you don't.”
