BOULDER — Former University of Colorado and NFL standout receiver Frank Clarke, the first African-American varsity football player at CU (and the first to earn a letter), died Wednesday in Dallas after a lengthy illness.

Clarke was 84.

Clarke, who was inducted into the CU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, joined the Buffs in 1954 after playing two years at Trinidad Junior College. After sitting out a transfer year, he led the Buffs in receiving in 1955 and '56, earning honorable mention All-Big 7 honors as a junior. In an era when Colorado rarely threw the ball downfield, he still finished his career averaging 26.6 yards for 20 catches, seven of which went for touchdowns. Clarke also blocked two kicks in his career, handled most of CU's kickoff duties, and had one catch for 18 yards in CU's 27-21 win over Clemson in the 1957 Orange Bowl.

That Orange Bowl also became a seminal moment in CU history in terms of breaking racial barriers that were still firmly in place in the Deep South at the time.

Clarke was one of two black athletes on the 1956 CU team, as another future Hall of Famer, John Wooten, had joined the Buffs soon after Clarke. When the Buffs were invited to play Clemson in the Orange Bowl, Clemson officials said the school would not play a team with black athletes.

The Buffs, however, refused to relent and said they would show up. If Clemson wanted to play, the Buffs would be waiting, and Clemson officials finally agreed to play the game.

Wooten, who also had a long NFL career, remembered that the Miami hotel at which the Buffs stayed told CU the hotel would not allow the Buffs' black players to room there.

"Miami Beach was still segregated and the hotel personnel plainly stated they didn't want any Negroes coming down there," Wooten said. "When it became apparent that Colorado wasn't going to back down, the Bal Harbor Hotel tried to reach a compromise. They said that Frank and I would have to stay in the same room and it would be on the top floor of the hotel. Frank and I had never roomed together. We roomed by position. My roommate was Bobby Salerno, and I didn't want to change it. I can't remember who Frank's roommate was, but I know he felt the same way.

"We stood strong. When we went to Miami Beach, we had our usual roommates and it was business as usual. And Clemson did show up at the game and we beat them."

Clarke left CU as Colorado's fifth all-time leading receiver, despite playing just two seasons. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns after his senior season and played three years in Cleveland before going to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960 expansion draft.

In Dallas, Clarke excelled, setting numerous franchise records that held literally for decades. He played eight years with the Cowboys, and finished his NFL career with 291 receptions for 5,426 yards and 50 touchdowns.

Clark led the Cowboys in receiving yards and touchdown catches from 1961 to 1964, and he still shares the Dallas record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown catch (seven) with Bob Hayes, Terrell Owens and Dez Bryant. His 14 touchdown catches in 1962 set a franchise record that stood until 2007, when it was broken by Owens; and he also held the Cowboys record for career receiving multi-touchdown games (nine) until it was broken by Bryant in 2014.

His final NFL game came in the famed 1967 "Ice Bowl" NFL championship game, when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Cowboys, 21-17. Playing for the Packers that day was Clarke's former Colorado teammate, Boyd Dowler.

After his playing career, Clarke pursued a variety of opportunities, including becoming the first African-American sports anchor at a Dallas television station, and also working NFL games for CBS.

Survivors include a nephew, Rodney Foster, of Denver.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu