Saturday capped off what was a memorable week for the Las Vegas Raiders and their representation at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
On Saturday afternoon, Raiders legendary wide receiver Cliff Branch was inducted into the Hall as part of the Class of 2022.
Branch, who passed away three years ago around this time, was presented by his sister Elaine Anderson and Raiders owner Mark Davis.
"Cliff had began playing football in junior high school," Anderson said in the introduction video. "He was recruited for the football team simply because they discovered that he could run."
Davis' thoughts on his close friend were also shared in the video.
"He was just this small little thing that could run like a deer," Davis said. "In his first couple years, he couldn't catch a football, but over the years, Cliff became one of the most respected wide receivers in professional football."
Davis said Branch was a competitor that opponents dreaded playing against.
"Cliff's playing style was the most dangerous person on the field," Davis said. "General managers, defensive coordinators, defensive backs couldn't sleep the night before they played the Raiders."
Branch holds the Raiders' all-time record for longest reception.
"What sticks out the most when Clifford played was in 1983, he ran 99 yards against the Washington Redskins," Anderson said.
"That 99-yard touchdown," added Davis, "epitomized what Cliff Branch was all about. Cliff Branch could go to the end zone from anywhere on the field."
Branch's greatest advantage was his speed.
"He brought speed to the game," Anderson said. "In fact, there was a poster that would be put up at every game: 'speed kills!'"
That sign would establish Branch's own corner of the end zone: "Cliff's Corner."
"Even to this day, I get tears in my eyes when I look at the picture of Cliff running into 'Cliff's Corner' with that ball held up above his head as he's scoring a touchdown. It was so apropros. Every team feared Cliff Branch and that speed that he had."
Now, Branch will go down as a permanent icon in pro football's rich history.
"Cliff would be so excited about going into the Hall of Fame and joining all the Raider alumni that are already in there; to join that family again," Davis said.
Anderson said the induction is "as good as it gets."
"This is what he dreamed of, this is what he longed for," she said.
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