Clair Branch
 | This article needs more citations. (May 2018) |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 30, 1937 Kenedy, Texas, U. S. |
| Died | June 18, 2022 (aged 85) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Texas |
| AFL draft | 1960 |
| Career history | |
| 1960–1963 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 1963–1965 | Edmonton Eskimos |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Clair Maurice Branch (b. March 30, 1937 - d. June 18, 2022) was an American football player who played fullback and linebacker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League from 1960 to 1963 and was a running back for the Texas Longhorns at the college level.
Early Life
[edit]He was born in Kenedy, Texas.[1] He played high school football at Gaston High School in Joinerville, TX. He had two older brothers, Coe and Phil, who played football as well, with Phil being an All-SWC player at Texas.
College Career
[edit]Branch played college football at the University of Texas in 1956-59, where he rushed for a total of 565 yards and a 4.2 yards per rush average over his career.[2]
He played on the 1956 Longhorn team that went 1-9, the most loses and fewest wins of any Longhorn team in program history. He saw most of his playing time later in the season, with his best game against Texas A&M, and finished with 4.4 yards per carry with 201 yards on 46 carries.[3]
He was on the roster for the 1957 season, but was held out due to injuries.[4] He missed the start of spring training after breaking his foot in a skiing accident and during spring training he injured his ankle and it lingered all season.[3] Over the summer he had an appendectomy.[5] At the end of the preseason he suffered a back injury. of the
In 1958, he was a reserve running back who played in 8 games, carrying the ball 30 times for 83 yards and had 1 reception for 24 yards. He also played defense where he had 14 tackles and a 90 yard interception return for a TD against Rice in 1958 that is still tied for the 5th longest interception return and interception return for a TD in school history (and tied for 5th for most interception return yards in a single game). It was the only points Texas scored in that game.[6] He had another season-best game against Texas A&M. In Darrell Royal's 2nd season he helped Texas to a 7-3 record.
In his senior year, he played in every game. He had 281 yards rushing on 59 carries with 2 TDs, and on defense he had 23 tackles and a fumble recovery. His 86 yard rushing game against SMU earned him a nomination of "Back of the Week." Against Baylor, he scored the game-winning touchdown late in the 4th quarter.[7] He helped Texas win a share of the Southwest Conference Championship and go to the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic where they faced off against #1 Syracuse and Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis. Branch was the game's leading rusher in the losing effort.[8] He came in 10th in All-SWC voting for backs.[9]
He graduated with a degree in personal management.
Pro Career
[edit]He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1960 AFL draft but a month later he signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL where the salaries were competitive at the time and where his older brother, Phil, had played. Before starting play there he went on a six-month tour of duty with the National Guard.[10]
He played four seasons with the Roughriders. In his initial year, he rushed for 508 yards for a 4.8 yards per rush average and was the team's nominee for the Most Outstanding Player award. But from 1961 onwards, he was used mostly as a linebacker. In 1963, he played 4 games for the Roughriders and 4 with the Edmonton Eskimos, where he rushed for only 75 yards and a 3.1 yard per rush average. He played only a single game with them in 1964 and 1965, with no rushing attempt during either year.
Later Life
[edit]After football, Branch pursued a lifelong career in the concrete pipe manufacturing business in Houston.[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Claire Branch Statistics on StatsCrew.com". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
- ↑ "Clair Branch College Stats - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- 1 2 "Clair Branch Back in Uniform for UT". The Austin Statesman. 13 February 1967.
- ↑ "1957 University of Texas Football". texassports.com. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Clair Branch Undergoes Operation". Corpus Christi Caller Times. 9 July 1957.
- ↑ "Longhorns Football Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved 15 August 2024.
- ↑ "Clair Branch Blossoms". The Austin Statesman. 12 November 1959.
- ↑ "Cotton Bowl Victory Never in Doubt". Rome Daily Sentinel. 2 January 1960.
- ↑ Trinkle, Jim (1 December 1959). "It's Spikes, Floyd, Meredith". Fort Worth Star Telegram.
- ↑ "Branch to Play Canadian Ball". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 26 January 1960.
- ↑ "Clair Branch Obituary". Retrieved 14 August 2024.