Raymond Berry, a Hall of Fame wide receiver and one of the most successful head coaches in New England Patriots franchise history, has passed away. Berry passed away on Monday at the age of 93, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced on its website.
Born in Corpus Christi, TX, on Feb. 27, 1933, Berry played high school football under his father but did not start until his senior season. He later spent time at Schreiner University before finishing his college career at SMU, where he caught just 33 passes
in three seasons.
As a result of his lacking production, he had to wait until the 20th round of the 1954 NFL Draft to hear his name called 232nd overall by the Baltimore Colts. Despite his lack of draft pedigree, he developed into one of the best pass catchers of his era. When he retired following an injury-shortened 1967 campaign, he had been voted All-Pro three times and earned six trips to the Pro Bowl.
Appearing in 154 regular season games, he caught 631 passes for 9,275 yards — the most in league history at the time of his retirement. Berry also caught 68 touchdowns.
His regular season success translated to the postseason. A two-time champion with the Colts, he registered 20 receptions for 284 yards and a score in four playoff games.
Berry went into coaching immediately after his retirement, spending time with the Cowboys, Lions and Browns as well as at Arkansas before joining the Patriots in 1978. Initially coaching wide receivers under Chuck Fairbanks, Ron Erhardt, and Ron Meyer, he took over as interim head coach following Meyer’s sacking in 1984.
In his first full-time season, Berry led the Patriots to an 11-5 record as well as their first trip to the Super Bowl. While his team was eventually beaten 46-10, Berry’s career was off to a promising start.
Including his interim stint in 1984, he ended up spending five and a half seasons as Patriots head coach. Berry went 48-39 in the regular season, 3-2 in the playoffs, won a division title and clinched two playoff berths. However, after a fallout with new franchise owner Victor Kiam, he was replaced by Ron Rust in 1990.
Berry was later voted to the Patriots’ Team of the 1980s. He went on to end his coaching career with stints in Detroit and Denver, both times working with the quarterbacks.
Berry is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sally, as well as three children and nine grandchildren.
