Pro Football Hall of Famer Raymond Berry died on Monday, May 25, the Hall of Fame has announced. He was 93 years old.
Among the most accomplished figures in football history, Berry's No. 87 is retired at SMU, his No. 82 is retired by the Indianapolis Colts, and he was also the head coach of the New England Patriots' All-1980s team.
Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Berry started at Shreiner University and entered the 1950s version of the transfer portal, landing at SMU. An All-Southwest Conference wide receiver, he was taken 232nd in the 1954 NFL draft, and went on to become the most accomplished wide receiver of his time. Berry led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards three times, and in touchdowns twice. He made a total of nine All-Pro teams, six Pro Bowls, the All-1950s team, and the NFL75 and NFL100. In surely the greatest honor of his career, in 2025 he was identified by FootballScoop as the greatest 232nd pick in NFL draft history.
Berry entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 which, at 53 years, gave him among the longest tenures in a gold jacket in the history of the hall.
Upon his 1967 retirement from playing, Berry immediately entered coaching as the wide receivers coach for Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys in 1968. He would later coach wideouts for Arkansas, the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Patriots, and also coached quarterbacks for the Lions and Denver Broncos.
Berry was the Patriots' head coach from 1984-89, going 48-39 in six seasons. His 1985 team won the club's first of 12 AFC championships, running into the buzzsaw Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX.
Please join the FootballScoop staff in mourning the loss of one of the great lives, and one of the kindest souls, the game of football has ever produced.