Franklin Clarke (February 7, 1934 – July 25, 2018) was an

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 wi ...

wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

. He played college football at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

Early years

Clarke was named after

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, the 32nd

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. He attended

Beloit Memorial High School Beloit Memorial High School is a public, four-year comprehensive high school in Beloit, Wisconsin. Academics Beloit Memorial has an enrollment of approximately 1,700 students, with 120 full-time certified staff and an average class size of 28 s ...

where he received All-state honors in football and track. He clocked 49.9 seconds in the 440-yard dash. After attending

Trinidad State Junior College Trinidad State College is a public community college in Trinidad, Colorado. It was founded in 1925, making it the first community college in the state of Colorado. Trinidad State operates a satellite campus in the nearby city of Alamosa, Color ...

for two years, where he had a successful career, he became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

varsity football player at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

, joining the Buffaloes in September 1954. He had to sit out the season after transferring. He was joined by

John Wooten John B. Wooten (born December 5, 1936) is a former American football guard who played nine professional seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins. Wooten played college football at the Univ ...

the following year and because this was before the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

, the pair often had to endure open racism outside of Boulder. As a junior, he was an honorable-mention All-Big 7 conference performer, when he was second in the league with 407 receiving yards, during a run-oriented era. He also returned kickoffs, while leading the team with 13 receptions and 5 receiving

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. As a senior, he led the team with 7 receptions for 124 yards and 2 receiving

s. Trailing 13–0 against the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

and needing a tie or a win to clinch a berth for the

1957 Orange Bowl The 1957 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game between the 1956 Clemson Tigers football team, Clemson Tigers and the 1956 Colorado Buffaloes football team, Colorado Buffaloes. It was played on New Year's Day in Miami, Florida. Background C ...

, Clarke scored 2 second half

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

originally stated that they would not play in the bowl against a team with black athletes, but later changed its position and would end up losing 27–21. He was selected to play in the

Copper Bowl The Guaranteed Rate Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989. Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 through 2001, then ...

All-Star game. Clarke amassed 20 receptions for 532 yards (26.6 yard average), 7 receiving

s and 2 blocked kicks, ending his career fifth at the time in receiving yards at Colorado. He was so well liked among his peers on campus, that he was chosen as King of the annual Days festival, Colorado's equivalent of Homecoming King. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and track. In 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Clarke was selected by the

in the fifth round (61st overall) of the 1956 NFL Draft. He played with the team for three seasons, from

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, even though he stood on the sidelines during the first two. He had a total of 10 catches during those three years at offensive right end and was left unprotected in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft.

Dallas Cowboys

Clarke was selected by the

in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft. His coaches at Colorado and Cleveland criticized his blocking, but the Cowboys were still intrigued by the 6-1, 215-pound player. Instead of picking at his deficiencies,

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...

chose to accentuate his strengths. The coach appreciated his speed, soft hands and his ability to run precise routes, so he was converted into a split end. Mostly a backup behind

Billy Howton William Harris Howton (born July 3, 1930) is a former American football player, an end in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and expansion Dallas Cowboys. As a rookie, Howton caught t ...

and

Fred Dugan John Frederick Dugan (May 12, 1933 – March 3, 2018) was an American football end. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football ...

, he appeared in 8 games (3 starts), registering 9 receptions, 290 yards, 3 touchdowns and a 32.2-yard average. He moved into the starting role in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, tallying 41 receptions, 919 yards, 22.4-yard average (led the league), 9

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

and scored 54 points (led the team). Additionally, he began a streak of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown reception, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with

Bob Hayes Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football split end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). ...

( 1965– 1966),

Terrell Owens Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), nicknamed T.O., is an American football wide receiver for the Knights of Degen of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. Regar ...

(2007), and

Dez Bryant Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...

(2012). He turned out to be the Cowboys' first bona fide long-ball threat—before "Bullet" Bob Hayes joined him. Hayes even credits Clarke for teaching him the proper way to catch "the bomb"—the long pass. He is also credited as the first African American star athlete, on a Cowboys that played in a then racially divided

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. In

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, His opening day performance against 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 ...

was one for the ages. His 10 receptions for 241 yards, remains the best opening day performance in terms of most yards receiving, of any wide receiver in the history of the NFL. On September 23, Clarke was part of an infamous play where, for the first time in an NFL game, points were awarded for a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

. The Cowboys were holding in the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

on a 99-yard touchdown pass from

Eddie LeBaron Edward Wayne LeBaron Jr. (January 7, 1930 – April 1, 2015) was a Korean War veteran and an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the Col ...

to Clarke, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were awarded a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

, helping them win the game 30–28. He was close to breaking the NFL season touchdown receiving record until missing the last 2 games with an injury. That year would be his best, becoming the first player in team history to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season (ground or air) and recording 47 passes for career high numbers in yards (1043) and

s (14). In addition to leading the NFL with 14 touchdowns and a 22.2-yard average per reception. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, he caught 65 passes (franchise record) for 973 yards, 5 touchdowns and received

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

honors. In 1965, he was moved to

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

and was second on the team with 41 receptions for 682 yards and 4 touchdowns. In 1965, he was a backup to Pettis Norman, but remained productive and became a clutch third down receiver, recording 26 receptions for 355 and 4 touchdowns. The next year, his production fell to 9 receptions for 119 yards. He announced his retirement on July 17,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

. Clarke led the Cowboys in yards and touchdowns from

, and catches in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

and

. He held the franchise record for most touchdowns in a season by a receiver with 14 from his 1962 season, which stood for 45 years until 2007, when it was broken by Terrell Owens. He also had the team record for the most career receiving multi-touchdown games with 9, until it was broken by Dez Bryant in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. He retired after the

1967 NFL Championship Game The 1967 NFL Championship Game was the 35th NFL championship, played on December 31 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It determined the NFL's champion, which met the AFL's champion in Super Bowl II, then formally referred to as the se ...

against the Green Bay Packers, in what is now known as the “ Ice Bowl”, won by the Packers, 21–17. He left with most of the franchise's records for receiving, finishing with 281 receptions for 5,214 yards and 51 touchdowns in 140 NFL games, which ranks sixth in receiving yards in Dallas Cowboys history.

Broadcasting

Clarke began his career as a sportscaster for

WFAA-TV WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29) ...

(Channel 8). He became the first African American

sports anchor In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio wa ...

in a Dallas television station and at

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. On weekends, he anchored sports reports for

when not working NFL games for

Personal life

Clarke died on July 25, 2018 at the age of 84. He was

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, raised in the faith and passing it down to his children. His nephew is former sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee.

References

External links

Dallas Cowboys Uncover New Pass Catching Ace In Flanker Frank Clarke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Franklin 1934 births 2018 deaths Sportspeople from Beloit, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin American football tight ends American football wide receivers Colorado Buffaloes football players Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball players Colorado Buffaloes men's track and field athletes Cleveland Browns players Dallas Cowboys players National Football League announcers American men's basketball players African-American Catholics