Solomon Embra Brannan (born September 5, 1942) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played three seasons in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a Private university, private African Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlan ...

. Brannan also played for the

Springfield Acorns The Springfield Acorns were a minor league American football team based in Springfield, Massachusetts. They began play in the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1963. The Acorns played their homes games in Pynchon Park. Following the 1964 season ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

, the Michigan Arrows of the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Fo ...

, and the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. They were members of the Are ...

of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL). He was a member of the Chiefs team that won the 1966 AFL championship.

Early life and college

Solomon Embra Brannan was born on September 5, 1942, in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. He attended Tompkins High School in Savannah. Brannan was a member of the Morris Brown Wolverines of

from 1960 to 1963.

Professional career

Brannan signed with the

of the

(AFL) after going undrafted in the

1964 AFL draft The 1964 American Football League draft was held in New York City on Saturday, November 30, 1963. The first selection was quarterback John Concannon of Boston College, taken by the Boston Patriots. The NFL draft was held two days later in Chicag ...

. He was released on September 7, 1964. Brannan played in 11 games for the

of the

in 1964, totaling six interceptions for 257 yards and two touchdowns, ten receptions for 93 yards and two touchdowns, nine kickoff returns for 193 yards, and four punt returns for 16 yards. Brannan signed with the Chiefs again in 1965. He was placed on injured reserve on September 7, 1965, but was later activated. He played in ten games for the Chiefs during the 1965 season, returning nine kicks for 226 yards and five punts for ten yards while also fumbling twice. He was released on August 30, 1966, but later signed to the team's

taxi squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scout ...

. Brannan was promoted to the active roster on October 8, 1966. He appeared in three games in 1966 and returned one kick for 24 yards. On January 1, 1967, the Chiefs beat the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the

1966 AFL Championship Game The 1966 AFL Championship Game was the seventh American Football League's championship game, played at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York, on January 1, 1967. It matched the Western Division champion Kansas City Chiefs (11–2–1) an ...

by a score of 31–7. On June 30, 1967, it was reported that Brannan had been traded to the

for

Mike Hudock Michael Edward Hudock, Jr. (''Pronounced:'' HOO-dock) (September 29, 1934 – May 7, 2003) was an American football center. He helped the University of Miami to become a national football power for the first time. He went played in the America ...

. Brannan played in 12 games, starting three, for the Jets during the 1967 season, recording two fumble recoveries for ten yards and nine kick returns for 204 yards. In January 1968, Brannan was selected by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the AFL in an expansion draft. He was released on August 10, 1968. Brannan played for the Michigan Arrows of the

in 1968, totaling five interceptions for 98 yards, two receptions for 25 yards, and one kickoff return for 19 yards. Brannan signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in 1970 but was later released and signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. He was released by the Dolphins on August 5, 1970. Brannan played for the

of the upstart

in 1974, accumulating two interceptions for 39 yards, one punt return for 42 yards, and one kickoff return for 25 yards.

Post-playing career

Brannan was later an assistant coach at

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

and the head coach at Morris Brown College. He was inducted into the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brannan, Solomon Living people 1942 births American football defensive backs Morris Brown Wolverines football players Kansas City Chiefs players Atlantic Coast Football League players New York Jets players Cincinnati Bengals players Continental Football League players Detroit Lions players Miami Dolphins players Jacksonville Sharks (WFL) players Players of American football from Savannah, Georgia American Football League players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Morehouse Maroon Tigers football coaches Morris Brown Wolverines football coaches Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)