Via Last Word On Pro Football, by Ryan Smith
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is a bit of a joke. Warren Sapp got in before Michael Strahan, Ken Stabler was held out for 32 years, and somehow Troy Aikman is in there. However, of all the “prestigious” institutions flaws, none are quite as glaring as the absence of Raiders receiver, Cliff Branch. Why in the world isn’t Cliff Branch in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Cliff Branch and the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Charlie Joiner
When Charlie Joiner retired from the NFL, he held the NFL records for receptions and receiving yards in a career. With cumulative stats like that, it’s obvious why he got into the Hall of Fame. However, it’s also easy to see how he collected those numbers, as he played for 18 seasons, and was a part of the Air Coryell offense in San Diego in the 1980s.
The funny thing is that Cliff Branch actually had two more career touchdown receptions than Joiner in four fewer seasons. That’s not a typo. Despite playing nearly half a decade more, Joiner still had fewer touchdown catches than Cliff Branch, and Branch didn’t need to play for three other teams.
Lynn Swann
How Lynn Swann is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame but Cliff Branch isn’t, nobody will ever know. Cliff Branch had 165 more catches, 3,223 yards, and 16 more touchdowns than Swann. It’s true that Branch played five years longer than Swann, but Swann would have to maintain his career average just to tie Branch over that span.
So why is Swann in and not Branch? Nobody knows. It’s true that Swann did win four Super Bowls, but considering that Branch won three, that point is meaningless. Swann had a couple of pretty catches, but that shouldn’t be enough to put him in over Branch. If that’s the case, go ahead and enshrine Odell Beckham Jr. and Braylon Edwards. If Lynn Swann is in, Cliff Branch should be as well.
He Changed The Game
For the longest time, one of Oakland’s mottos was “Speed Kills,” and nobody personified that like Cliff Branch. He could run 100 meters in ten seconds flat, and was one of the NFL’s first deep threats. In the NFL, Branch was a star. He was a four time All-Pro, a four time Pro Bowler, and holds the distinction of being the only Oakland Raiders receiver to play on all three Super Bowl teams. He was better than Charlie Joiner, and he was better than Lynn Swann, but both of those guys are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Whether the conspiracy theory of an anti-Raider bias in the Hall of Fame is true or not, Cliff Branch needs to be inducted. Branch is 68 years old, and it would be despicable if he didn’t live to see himself enshrined.
