Franklin Clarke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Franklin Clarke

Date of birth:	February 7, 1934 (1934-02-07) (age 74)
Place of birth:	Beloit, Wisconsin
Career information
Position(s):	Wide receiver
College:	Colorado
NFL Draft:	1956 / Round: 5 / Pick 61
Organizations
As player:
1957-1959 1960-1967	Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys
Career highlights and Awards
Honors:	all pro 1962
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com

For similarly-named persons, see Frank Clarke.

Franklin Clarke (born February 7, 1934 in Beloit, Wisconsin) was an American football wide receiver in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys. He attended Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado and also the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he played college football. In the 1956 NFL Draft, he was drafted #6 overall by Cleveland.

In 1960 he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL expansion draft. He played there from 1960 to 1967. He held a franchise record of 14 touchdown receptions for the Dallas Cowboys until 2007.

On September 23rd, 1963 he was part of an infamous play where, for the first time in anyone's memory in an NFL game, points were awarded for a penalty.^{[citation needed]} The Cowboys were holding in the end zone on a 99-yd. TD pass from Eddie LeBaron to Clarke, and Pittsburgh was awarded a safety. The Steelers eventually won, 30-28.

He led the Cowboys in yards and touchdowns for a receiver from 1961-1964 catches in 1963 and 1964. He led the league in touchdowns in 1962 with 14. He also held the Dallas Cowboys record for most touchdowns in a season by a receiver in a season with 14 from his 1962 season, which was broken in 2007 by Terrell Owens. In 1964 he was named all-pro.