Northwest Community College Athletics news release
May 14, 2025 – Coach. Husband. Mentor. Father. Friend.
Those are just some of the words that could be used to describe longtime Northwest football coach Bobby Ray Franklin, who passed away Tuesday afternoon at the age of 88.
Though Franklin’s longest coaching stint was at Northwest, his impact on the game of football stretches far beyond the Five Star City. Born in Clarksdale on Oct. 5, 1936, Franklin was a four-sport letterman at Clarksdale High School, becoming the first sophomore to win four major sport letters. He was the co-captain of the Wildcats’ football team and earned All-State, All-American, All-Big Eight and All-Southern Team accolades. Additionally, he was also the captain of Clarksdale’s basketball team.
In 1956, Franklin received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Mississippi, where he starred as the Rebels’ quarterback from 1956-60. During his time at Ole Miss, Franklin led the team to three straight bowl appearances, and was chosen as the Most Valuable Player in the 1958 Gator Bowl.
Later, Franklin was selected as the MVP in the 1960 Sugar Bowl, where he threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 21-0 victory against LSU, the defending national champions. The 1960 Ole Miss football team finished the season 10-1 and was voted as the national champions by various selection committees.
Franklin was chosen in the 11th round of the 1960 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and was also selected by the Los Angeles Chargers of the newly-formed American Football League. Ultimately, Franklin chose to play for the Browns and spent seven seasons in Cleveland, helping the franchise to the 1964 NFL Championship. The Browns also won the 1965 NFL Eastern Conference Championship.
During his time in Cleveland, Franklin was used primarily as a defensive back but also returned kickoffs and held for field goals and extra points. He was teammates with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Lou Groza (1961-66) and played in 86 games during his professional career, hauling in 13 interceptions for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
Franklin stepped away from professional football to begin his coaching career, starting in 1967 with Georgia Tech, where he served as the Yellow Jackets’ defensive back coach until 1968, when he joined the Dallas Cowboys as a member of Tom Landry’s coaching staff. In Dallas, he served as the defensive backs coach from 1968-71 and as a special teams coach in 1972. He coached in Super Bowl V and Super Bowl VI, the latter of which helped the Cowboys capture its first NFL championship, a 24-3 win against the Miami Dolphins.
Franklin spent one more season in the NFL, coaching the defensive secondary for the Baltimore Colts in 1973, before eventually making his way to Northwest as a member of Ray Poole’s coaching staff in 1979. During his two years as an assistant, the Rangers went a combined 13-7, including a 9-1 overall record during Franklin’s initial season.
In 1981, Franklin was named as the next head football coach at Northwest, and the rest was history. In just his second season as the Rangers’ head coach, NWCC went 12-0-1 and captured the 1982 NJCAA Championship with a 16-9 win against Ferrum College in the Eastern Bowl. In 1991, Franklin’s team fell in the Coca-Cola Mid-America Bowl to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, only for the Rangers to return the following season, earning the 1992 national title with a 34-0 revenge shutout of the same opponent.
Throughout Franklin’s entire tenure as the Rangers’ head coach, Northwest never posted a losing season. The Rangers went a combined 201-57-6, winning six MACJC titles (1982, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1999) and 11 MACJC North Division championships (1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2003), with appearances in the 1982 Eastern Bowl, 1986 Roaring Ranger Bowl, the 1987 Jayhawk Bowl, the 1989 Shrine Bowl, the 1991 and 1992 Coca-Cola Mid-America Bowl games and the 1998 Mineral Water Bowl.
Franklin is a member of numerous halls of fame, dating back to his 1988 induction to the Ole Miss M Club Hall of Fame. In 2003, he was inducted into the Northwest Sports Hall of Fame and in 2005, he was chosen for inductions into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
In 2007, Franklin was enshrined into the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame and three years later, he was inducted into the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was voted into the Clarksdale/Coahoma County Sports Hall of Fame.
Over the course of his career, Franklin coached numerous future NFL and Canadian Football League players, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy and CFL Hall of Famer Henry “Gizmo” Williams. Other notable professional players that started under Franklin’s leadership include John Avery, Dan Footman, Cletidus Hunt, Gerald Perry, Roell Preston and Fred Thomas.
Despite his retirement from coaching following the 2004 season, Franklin remained in Senatobia and was a well-known member of the community. He continued to attend various Northwest sporting events over the years, including Ranger football games at the field named after him.
Memorial arrangements will be posted here once announced by the Franklin family.
