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Raymond Emmett Berry (born February 27, 1933 in Corpus Christi, Texas) was an American football wide receiver. He played for the Baltimore Colts during their four NFL championship wins.
NFL career Berry, who played with special shoes because one of his legs was shorter then the other, seemd an unlikely future star prior to his NFL career. He didn't start on his high school team until he was a senior, even though his father was the coach. Berry went on to catch only 33 passes in his 3 seasons at Southern Methodist University before being selected by the Colts in the 20th (final) round of the 1954 NFL draft. However, Berry became a permanent starter on the team by his second NFL season, and didn't miss a single game until his 8th year in the league. During his career, he led the NFL in receptions 3 times, and was selected to the Pro Bowl from 1957-1961, and in 1965, a total of six times. He also made the all-NFL team from 1958-1960. Berry was considered the very identity of the great Colts' teams of the 1950s and 1960s (along with Johnny Unitas, Alan Ameche, Lenny Moore, John Mackey), Gino Marchetti, and Jim Parker. He was famous for his attention to detail and preparation. He and quarterback John Unitas regularly worked after practice and developed the timing and knowledge of each other's abilities that made made each more effective. In addition to his great record as a pass receiver, his dedication to his craft is demonstrated by the fact that, in a 13 year career, he fumbled the football only once. One his Berry's more notable performance was in the 1958 NFL championship game, known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played". Berry caught a championship record 12 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown during the game, including 2 key receptions for 33 yards on the Colts' final game winning drive. Raymond Berry ended his NFL career in 1967 with an NFL record 631 receptions for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns (14.7 yards per rec.). In 1973, Berry was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. In 1999, he was ranked number 40 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Coaching Career In 1984, Berry took over as the head coach of the New England Patriots, replacing the previous coach Ron Meyer in the middle of the season. Under his leadership, the Patriots won 4 of their last 8 games and finished the season with an 9-7 record. In the 1985 season, the team did even better, recording an 11-5 record and making the playoffs as a wildcard team. They went on to become the first team in NFL history ever to advance to the Super Bowl by winning 3 playoff games on the road, defeating New York Jets 26-14, the Los Angeles Raiders, 27-20, and the Miami Dolphins 31-14. New England's win against Miami was particularly surprising because the Patrtiots had not beaten the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl (Miami's then home Stadium) since 1966, in Miami's first AFL season. The Patriots had lost to the Dolphins there 18 consecutive times, including a 30-27 loss in week 15 of the regular season. In addition, the Dolphins had recorded an AFC best 12-4 record and had been the only team during the season to defeat the Chicago Bears, who had stormed to the top of the NFC with a 15-1 record and advanced to the Super Bowl by shutting out both their opponents in the playoffs. But despite the Patriots success in the playoffs, they proved unable to compete with the Bears in Super Bowl XX, losing 46-10 in what was at the time the most lopsided defeat in Super Bowl history. The following season, Berry's Patriots again recorded an 11-5 record and made the playoffs, but this time lost in the first round of the postseason. This would be the last time the Patriots would make the playoffs with Berry as their coach. They narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8-7(during a strike shortened season) record in 1987, and a 9-7 record in 1988. Then in Berry's last year as a coach, the Patriots finished the 1989 season 5-11. Berry's overall coaching record is 48 wins and 39 losses, and 3-2 in the playoffs. | ||||||||
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