Franklin Clarke
| No. 82 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver / Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | February 7, 1934 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Beloit, Wisconsin | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Beloit Memorial | ||||||||
| College: | Colorado | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1956 / Round: 5 / Pick: 61 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
| Receptions: | 291 |
|---|---|
| Receiving yards: | 5,426 |
| Touchdowns: | 50 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Franklin Clarke (born February 7, 1934) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for Colorado.
Clarke was named after Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. He attended Beloit Memorial High School where he was an all-state football player.
After attending Trinidad State Junior College for two years, where he had a successful career, he became the first African-American varsity football player at the University of Colorado at Boulder, joining the Buffaloes in September 1954. He had to sit out the season after transferring. He was joined by John Wooten the following year and because this was before the civil rights movement, the pair often had to endure open racism outside of Boulder.
Clarke amassed 532 yards receiving, 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 was an honorable mention All-Big 7 conference performer as a junior, when he was second in the league in receiving. As a senior, he was selected to play in the Copper Bowl All-Star Game.
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