1948 - 2019
Cliff Branch had the hands, the moves and the speed of greatness. I remember watching him outrun defenses and haul in touchdowns in my youth. He was the Oakland Raiders Legend I related to most. I played wide receiver as a young football player. What young wide receiver didn't wanna be great like #21. On the field he was Primetime before Prime!
The day I met Cliff Branch was the day I met one of my childhood sports idols. I'll never forget it, Dec. 23, 2006. He signed my #21 "Branch" Jersey at a booth before the home game and I strutted into the Coliseum like Vince 'frickin' McMahon. That day, every ol'skool fan wanted to know where I got the cool Jersey. Cliff's silver-penned inscription was so fly it looked store bought. With a game face to kill for I boisterously replied, "Cliff hooked me up earlier, nice ha!" I said it like someone who ran with Raider legends all the time, no big deal.
That day spent kicking it with Cliff, I was like a Pop Warner kid all over again. We talked 70's football and I confessed how he was my second favorite NFL receiver back then, behind Bullet Bob Hayes of the Cowboys. Cliff was classy about it and gave Hayes nothing but praise for his HOF talents. But Cliff also pointed out his own accomplishments, saying he won three Super Bowls to Haye's one.
I will likely wear my "Branch" jersey to at least one game this season to honor my boy Cliff Branch. If Antonio Brown can do a quarter of what Cliff Branch did for the Raiders, we fans would appreciate it. Unfortunately for Brown, nobody can replace what Cliff Branch was to us Raiders fans both on the field and off.
Thanks For Being A Raider 4Life Cliff.
Cliff Branch Hooks a Brotha Up (2006)
Breaking Out my Cliff Branch Jersey (2010)
NFL Films & Cliff Branch (2011)
Charging to the Super Bowl (2012)
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