NFL Photos, via Associated Press
Cliff Branch, a former world-class sprinter who was one of the N.F.L.’s top deep threats, winning three Super Bowls in 14 seasons with the Raiders, was found dead on Saturday in a hotel room in Bullhead City, Ariz. He was 71.
The police there, in northwest Arizona, said Branch had died of natural causes. No specific cause was given.
Branch, wiry at 5 feet 11 and 170 pounds but remarkably durable, was one of professional football’s fastest players in his years with the Raiders, 1972 to 1985, first in Oakland, Calif.