Raymond Berry obit

Raymond Berry dies at 93: Hall of Famer won 2 titles with Colts, including 'Greatest Game Ever Played'

 

He was not on the list.

When the Colts resided in Baltimore (and, often, atop the NFL), Raymond Berry was a fixture as arguably the game's greatest receiver of the time.

Quiet and reserved in demeanor, Berry's numbers were boisterous; he finished his career as the league's all-time leader in catches and receiving yards en route to a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.

A Colts legend, two-time NFL champion and former New England Patriots head coach, Berry died on May 25 at the age of 93, the Hall of Fame announced Monday.

With Johnny Unitas leading the way, Berry was often on the other end of one of the NFL's first and greatest QB-WR combos. Following his playing career, Berry became a head coach of the New England Patriots for six seasons, guiding the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance.

Across 13 seasons with the Colts, Berry was a six-time Pro Bowler at split end who led the league in receptions and receiving yards on three occasions apiece. It added up to 631 receptions, 9,725 yards and 68 touchdowns. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1973, Berry was also three-time All-Pro, a member of the Hall of Fame's All-1950s Team and a member of the NFL's All-Time 75th and 100th Anniversary squads.

A splendid route runner with the surest of hands, Berry overcame poor eyesight, being a step slow and having to wear a back brace to turn in an amazing career that overflowed with statistical gaudiness in its time.

From 1956-1966, Berry turned in at least 600 receiving yards each season, and from 1957-1966 had at least 40 catches every year.

Berry's astonishing career is all the more amazing considering how unlikely it was that he even made it into the NFL. Berry, who had just 33 catches in three college seasons at Southern Methodist, was a skinny 6-foot-2, 187-pounder who was slow of step and long on odds to even make a Colts roster after the club took him in the 20th round of the 1954 NFL Draft. That was all in addition to him dealing with wearing a back brace and special shoes because one leg was shorter than the other due to a misalignment in his back.

Just as he seemingly always found a way to get open with his dazzling route running, Berry, a marvel of fundamental excellence who fumbled just once in his 13 seasons, found a way to become a Hall of Fame talent.

He and Unitas, who connected for 63 touchdowns, were a spectacular pairing that keyed the Colts winning back-to-back NFL Championships.

The first of those titles was claimed in one of the most legendary games in NFL chronicle.

Forever tabbed as "The Greatest Game Ever Played," the 1958 NFL Championship Game saw the Colts, champions of the Western Conference, defeat the New York Giants, champions of the Eastern Conference, in sudden death overtime, 23-17, at Yankee Stadium. It was the first league championship decided in sudden-death OT and is largely credited with being the genesis of the NFL's surge in popularity in the country, thanks to its cast of star players playing a nail-biter in a game televised nationally on NBC. The game concluded with a now famous Alan Ameche 1-yard plunge. However, in this showcase of the then-NFL poster franchises, it was Berry who turned in the finest performance in the clutch. Berry tallied 178 receiving yards and caught Unitas' only TD pass of the game, doing so on 12 receptions, which would stand as an NFL title game record for 55 years.

Berry had two catches for 33 yards on the OT drive that set up Ameche's score, but even more impressive was the game-tying drive in regulation. Unitas went to Berry on three straight plays, accounting for 62 yards and setting up a game-tying field goal.

A season later, the Colts beat the Giants again, this time at the Colts' Memorial Stadium by way of a 31-16 final in which Berry had five catches for 68 yards.

Berry reached the NFL Championship Game one last time with the Colts, but they were thumped by the Cleveland Browns, 27-0, in the 1964 title game.

During his days in Baltimore, Berry played for two Hall of Fame coaches: Weeb Ewbank and Don Shula.

Berry retired after an injury-shortened 1967 campaign, but he didn't leave the NFL behind.

He quickly transferred to coaching, where he would become a wide receiver coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 1968 under another future HOF coach in Tom Landry. He'd later coach receivers for the Detroit Lions, Browns and Patriots until the latter hired him as head coach ahead of the 1984 season.

In six seasons, Berry produced a 48-39 record that featured a string of four consecutive winning seasons. That run was highlighted by taking the Patriots to the franchise's first Super Bowl, but it unfortunately came against the iconic 1985 Chicago Bears, who ravaged Berry's underdog Pats. It's a Cinderella run often overlooked because it ended with a 46-10 loss to a legendary team. However, Berry's Patriots, a wild-card entrant, were the first NFL team to make it to the Super Bowl winning three games on the road. The last of those wins was a stunning upset of Shula and Dan Marino's Miami Dolphins, who were the only team to defeat the Bears and seemed destined for a rematch.

Another 11-5 regular season followed for Berry's Patriots in 1986, but the AFC East champions lost in the opening round and the franchise wouldn't return to the postseason until 1994. Berry was fired after the 1989 season when new Patriots owner Victor Kiam wanted Berry to cede control over personnel and staff decisions and the Hall of Famer would not.

Berry spent a couple more years in the league as a QB coach with the Lions and the Denver Broncos in 1991 and 1992, respectively.

When the NFL truly began its love affair with the country, Berry was a focal point of one of the league's most popular and successful franchise. As time went on, the wide receiver position boasted some of the most colorful and boastful players there have ever been. That wasn't Berry, though, and perhaps that's why one half of the NFL's first great QB-WR combo is so often overlooked when gazing back into history.

His numbers and contributions certainly spoke loud enough, though.

A quiet underdog from Texas, he overcame obstacles and conventions to become an all-time great whose accomplishments and tale of desire, perseverance and glory will be forever chronicled in Canton and beyond.

Career history

Playing

Baltimore Colts (1955–1967)

Coaching

Dallas Cowboys (1968–1969)

Wide receivers coach

Arkansas (1970–1972)

Wide receivers coach

Detroit Lions (1973–1975)

Wide receivers

Cleveland Browns (1976–1977)

Wide receivers

New England Patriots (1978–1981)

Wide receivers

New England Patriots (1984–1989)

Head coach

Detroit Lions (1991)

Quarterbacks coach

Denver Broncos (1992)

Quarterbacks coach

Awards and highlights

As a player

2× NFL champion (1958, 1959)

3× First-team All-Pro (1958–1960)

3× Second-team All-Pro (1957, 1961, 1965)

6× Pro Bowl (1958–1961, 1963, 1964)

3× NFL receiving yards leader (1957, 1959, 1960)

3× NFL receptions leader (1958–1960)

2× NFL receiving touchdowns leader (1958, 1959)

NFL 1950s All-Decade Team

NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team

NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team

Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor

Indianapolis Colts No. 82 retired

Second-team All-SWC (1954)

SMU Mustangs Jersey No. 87 honored

As a coach

New England Patriots All-1980s Team

Career NFL statistics

Receptions       631

Receiving yards          9,275

Receiving touchdowns            68

Stats at Pro Football Reference

Head coaching record

Regular season            48–39 (.552)

Postseason       3–2 (.600)

Career  51–41 (.554)