Raymond Berry, Baltimore Colts Hall of Fame receiver, dies at 93

Raymond Berry, Baltimore Colts Hall of Fame receiver, dies at 93

Raymond Berry, the Hall of Fame wide receiver whose meticulous work ethic helped redefine his position in professional football, died on May 25 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He was 93. His family announced the death; no cause was given.

Berry spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Baltimore Colts after being selected in the 20th round of the 1954 NFL Draft. He finished with 631 receptions for 9,725 yards and 70 touchdowns, earned six Pro Bowl selections and three All-Pro designations, and at the time of his retirement led the league in career receiving yards and receptions. Alongside quarterback Johnny Unitas, he helped the Colts win consecutive NFL Championships in the late 1950s. The 1958 title game, in which Berry had one of his finest individual performances, is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in establishing professional football as the dominant sport in the United States.

After his playing career ended, Berry moved into coaching and served as head coach of the New England Patriots from 1984 to 1989, guiding the franchise to Super Bowl XX, where they lost to the Chicago Bears. The Pro Football Hall of Fame, which enshrined Berry in Canton, cited the partnership he forged with Unitas through disciplined repetition in practice as central to his legacy. Colts owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon, in a statement released by the franchise, described Berry as one of a small number of players who genuinely changed the sport.