Melvin Torrence Bratton (born February 2, 1965) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
and current
sports agent. Bratton attended the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
, where he played running back and starred in the
national championship game at the 1988 Orange Bowl against
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, where he
blew out his knee.
Bratton was
drafted by the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
in 1988 but did not make the team. He reentered the draft the following year and was drafted again in 1989 by the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
. Bratton played for the Broncos for two seasons, though never recovered his full athletic ability after the knee injury he suffered in the 1988 Orange Bowl.
College
Bratton starred in the 1987 national championship game, the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...
, against the
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...
. During the game, he suffered a serious injury to his knee, an injury that may have cost him an estimated one million dollars in the
NFL because of the diminution it caused in his draft status. At the end of his career, he held the University of Miami record for career touchdowns with 33.
Bratton was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary ''
The U
"The U" is a nickname often given to a university. Specifically, it has been used to refer to:
* The University of Miami
** ''The U'' (film), a 2009 documentary about the University of Miami football team.
* The University of Utah
The Univers ...
'', which premiered December 12, 2009 on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
.
NFL career
Bratton was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the
1988 NFL Draft
The 1988 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1988, at the Marriot Marq ...
but never signed a contract with the Dolphins.
In the seventh round of the
1989 NFL Draft, the Broncos drafted Bratton as the 180th overall pick.
He rushed for 190 yards and 4 touchdowns on 57 carries in his brief career. He also added 345 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns on 39 catches. He also returned 5 kickoffs for total of 56 yards averaging 11.2 yards.
He scored the winning touchdown to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional playoff round after which he said, "I'm glad I got it. In the past, every time I score the winning touchdown, we lose." One such game was the infamous 1984
Miami vs. Boston College game, where Bratton had four touchdowns including a 52 yard score and the go ahead score, which would have sealed the game for Miami if not for the
Hail Mary
The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
.
In
Super Bowl XXIV, in which the Broncos lost to the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
55–10, Bratton caught one 14-yard pass from
John Elway
John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).
Elway played college f ...
. He retired after the 1990 season.
Later career
In 1997, Bratton became a
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
for the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
. Bratton became coordinator of NFC pro personnel with the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in 2000. After Redskins owner
Dan Snyder fired him from the front office, Bratton founded sports apparel company College Throwback USA.
Bratton became a
sports agent after his playing career. Currently, Bratton is employed by Vantage Management Group. In 2008, the NFL began an inquiry into Bratton for contacting
Andre Smith, then a college football player for
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
.
Personal life
Born in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, Bratton graduated from
Miami Northwestern High School
Miami Northwestern Senior High School is a public four-year high school located in Miami, Florida, United States
History
Academics
Northwestern has long been known for its academic challenges; however, the school has shown an unprecedented ...
in 1983. Bratton is a cousin of
Geno Smith
Eugene Cyril "Geno" Smith III (born October 10, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to multiple bowl game ...
, Seattle Seahawks
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
.
He married Eugenia Bratton June 11, 2011.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bratton, Melvin
1965 births
Living people
Players of American football from Miami
Miami Northwestern Senior High School alumni
American football running backs
Miami Hurricanes football players
Denver Broncos players
American sports agents
Sportspeople from Miami