Matt Branche has been described as “a natural athlete
[whose] every move was smooth and graceful.” He displayed his
athletic gifts in every way he could find while at Bowdoin, earning
varsity letters in track, basketball, tennis, and football.
Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Branche was raised in the Boston area
and prepared for Bowdoin at Boston Latin. Once in Brunswick he
quickly found success on the track, where his athleticism
flourished. At the Maine State track meet in 1948, he placed first
in high hurdles, low hurdles, and the high jump, and placed second
in the broad jump at the same competition. His success in the
jumping events at that meet was no surprise, as he had set the
school record in the high jump two years earlier. Always
experimenting with his physical abilities, Branche approached
pole-vaulting teammates at track practice on one occasion and asked
if he could try for himself. On his first pass, aweing teammates
who still recall the moment sixty years later, he cleared the bar
at a height that would have won many competitions of the day.
Branche was an outstanding competitor beyond the track as well. In
1947 he was named to the All-Maine team in basketball.
The books he re-wrote, however, were not only in the world of
athletics. As one of the first great African American athletes at
Bowdoin, Branche had an impact on campus that was even more
profound than on the track or the hardcourt.
The hurdles he cleared as a member of the Bowdoin community
included being the first African American to be elected president
of his class, and also the first to join a national fraternity at
Bowdoin. The marks Branche left at Bowdoin are significant to this
day. Upon his admission to Delta Upsilon fraternity, the national
organization responded with vehement protest, and this conflict
precipitated the Bowdoin chapter’s withdrawal from its
affiliation with Delta Upsilon and its subsequent conversion to
Delta Sigma. The combination of Branche’s groundbreaking
athletic and social accomplishments brought with it a flood of
media attention; despite this storm he continued to distinguish
himself as both a scholar and an athlete.
Branche went on from Bowdoin to earn his master’s degree at
Howard University and a medical degree from Boston University, and
served in Korea as a military surgeon. While his focus had shifted
from athletics to medicine, his involvement with athletes continued
for many years. In 1976 Branche joined the United States Olympic
medical team, caring for a new generation of top-flight athletes.
Branche earned his degree at Bowdoin in biology. He was married for
many years to Alma Craft Branche, and together they raised two
children. His older brother, George C. Branche, is a member of the
Class of 1946; the two joined in medical practice in 1963. Matt
Branche died on August 13, 2005, just two months before his
induction into the Bowdoin College Athletic Hall of Honor.
