Raymond Berry

Raymond Emmett Berry, 93, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, departed his earthly home in Murfreesboro on May 25, 2026, and entered his heavenly home, there to dwell in the glorious presence of the Savior that he loved so much, the Lord Jesus Christ. He died peacefully in the presence of his family.

Raymond Emmett Berry was born on February 27, 1933, in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was the son of Mark Raymond Berry and Bess Hudgins Berry, and his older sister was Peggy Ann Berry (Justiss). Raymond’s father, “Coach Berry”, was a math teacher and football coach in Corpus Christi. When Raymond was still a boy, his father moved the family to Paris, Texas where he taught and coached football for 35 years at Paris High School.

Young Raymond came by his love for football naturally. His father’s players were his early heroes. Raymond played offensive and defensive end for his father at Paris High School and graduated in 1950.

He attended Schreiner Junior College in Kerrville, Texas for one year and then transferred to Southern Methodist University where he played offensive and defensive end alongside lifelong friend and future NFL great Forrest Gregg. Raymond graduated from SMU with a BA in Accounting in 1955.

In 1954 the Baltimore Colts drafted Raymond in the 20th round of the NFL draft as a future prospect. In the fall of 1955 Raymond embarked on his remarkable 13-year NFL career as an offensive end/wide receiver. He and quarterback Johnny Unitas became famous as one of the great QB-wide receiver combinations in the history of the game. Perhaps their most well-known game was the nationally televised 1958 World Championship game against the NY Giants won by the Colts in sudden death overtime. Many today consider this game the birth of the modern-day NFL. In it, Raymond caught a then post-season record of 12 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown. He led the league in receptions three times, receiving yardage three times, and touchdowns one time. He was also a 6-time All-Pro selection, and when he retired in 1967, he was the all-time leader in receptions with 631 and receiving yardage with 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns. Raymond was a first ballot inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on July 23, 1973, as well as both the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.

Humanly speaking, it was Raymond’s exceptional work ethic that enabled him to accomplish more than anyone would have thought possible for an athlete with average speed and size. Knowing he must overachieve to compete, he spent hours watching film, studying opposing defenders to look for weaknesses to exploit, and perfecting his pass patterns with a precision that enabled him to get open for receptions time and again. When he noticed that at a certain time of the day the sun would come over the rim of Candlestick Park in San Francisco and obstruct his vision, he had sunglasses made that he would wear exclusively when the Colts played the 49ers. When he realized that his hands were getting slippery from sweat, he cut towels and wrapped them around his wrists, fashioning home-made sweat bands before they were formally invented. When he saw that most athletes showed up for two-a-day practices to get in shape from the offseason, he began to train in March of the offseason to get in shape so that he could be in gameday shape on the first day of training camp. He carried cans of “Silly Putty” with him everywhere to strengthen his hands and fingers by squeezing it and working each finger through the resistance of the putty. This habit was to help him avoid sprained fingers from the impact and velocity of the football. Finally, Raymond was perhaps best known for cataloguing every type of reception that a receiver might have to make during a game and then practicing each one of them over and over again after practice. This included every type of poorly thrown ball to which a receiver would have to adjust to make the reception. The name of the game for Raymond was “preparation”. He wanted to be prepared and capable to execute in any situation the game might present. He eventually distilled his knowledge of pass receiving into a book and a film, both entitled, “There’s a Catch To It”. These fundamentals are taught and used by successful pass receivers and receiver coaches at all levels of the game to this day.

As Raymond achieved success in his football career, he also began to develop a sense that there was more to life than human achievements. This led him to read the Bible, searching for answers. At first, he could not understand it. But then his good friend and teammate Don Shinnick explained to him that to understand the Bible you had to first know its Author, Jesus Christ, and that could only happen through repentance and faith in Christ and receiving his free gift of eternal life. Raymond at that moment asked Christ to forgive his sins and to give him this new life, and to teach him how to follow him and to live for him. God answered his prayer, saving him and causing him to be born from above by the Holy Spirit. He was 27 years old.

Raymond applied his disciplined approach to life to his Christian faith and memorized large portions of Scripture, becoming a student of God’s word. He loved to share the Word with others, especially with his family. In this way his children received the double blessing of having him as both their biological father as well as their spiritual father.

At that time, Raymond realized that his talents and the work ethic that had been instilled in him by his father, as well as his success in the NFL, were all gifts from a gracious and loving God whose servant he had become through the gospel. He now had a new purpose for his life and career: to honor and glorify the Lord who had saved him with his precious blood and to whom he owed his life and eternal salvation. Raymond prayed and offered up his football career to the Lord, asking him if He wanted him to continue it or serve Him in some other way with his life. As he prayed, he sensed the Spirit leading him to continue his football career, using the gifts that God had given him, but now not for personal fame and glory, but for God’s glory.

Raymond made it his habit to personally answer all his fan mail, which was substantial throughout his career and throughout his coaching career and in retirement. With each letter he would send out in response to varying requests from people from around the world, Raymond would include a small tract explaining the way of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Through this ministry he touched countless lives.

As a player, he developed mentoring relationships with many young men in the Baltimore community that would come to Colts’ practices and games. Throughout his coaching career he had a similar impact on many of the men he coached both as an assistant as well as a head coach. One of his most amazing qualities was his sincere interest in every person that he met, always asking their name and often taking time out of whatever he was doing to get to know them personally. He loved to learn people’s stories and was especially keen on discovering where they were from and their ethnic history. He usually would ask about this by inquiring about the significance of their last name, and what family history it represented.

After retiring from professional football in 1967, Raymond joined the staff of the Dallas Cowboys under head coach Tom Landry. He was the receivers coach for the Cowboys for two seasons before taking time away from football to finish his film on pass receiving. He then joined the staff of University of Arkansas as receivers coach under Frank Broyles where he coached from 1970-1973. From there he took a job with the Detroit Lions as their receivers coach from 1973-1976. From there he would go on to coach receivers with the Cleveland Browns, under his old friend Forrest Gregg for two seasons. In 1978 he became receivers coach for the New England Patriots until 1981. After two seasons out of coaching working in private business with friend Steven Alpert and later brother-in-law Tom Crook, the New England Patriots asked him to become their head coach. He took the Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance during his first full year as head coach. After 5 seasons in New England, he would go on to coach receivers again for the Detroit Lions and finish his career coaching quarterbacks for the Denver Broncos until 1992. In 2004, Raymond and Sally moved from Golden, Colorado to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to be near their children and grandchildren.

Sally Berry was the center of Raymond’s world. She was the apple of his eye and the love of his life. Raymond and Sally met at Baylor University in the spring of 1960 while Raymond was visiting to help the football team’s coaching staff by working with their receivers. They met on a blind date, and it was love at first sight for both. They were married by the end of that summer, on August 20, 1960. During his playing career, Raymond would have Sally throw him passes in the back yard to keep his skills up. They loved to travel together and of their many memorable trips, their trip to Normandy, France to visit the grave of Raymond’s first cousin John L. Hanby, who was killed in action there during WWII, was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Raymond. He was the only family member to ever be able to visit John L.’s grave. Raymond loved the mountains and treasured the years he and Sally spent living in Colorado. Most of all, Raymond and Sally as a couple loved people. They loved to give generously of their time and resources to help friends and family alike. Their legacy of lifelong friendships is a testimony to the sincere interest in and love for people that was only surpassed by their love for each other. And oh, how they loved each other! For almost 66 years they were inseparable.

Raymond Emmett Berry is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sally Crook Berry; his children Suzanne Wich (Steve), Mark Raymond Berry (Lori) and Ashley Berry Bass (Tom); and nine grandchildren, Alexandra Kaitlyn Duross, Luke Christopher Duross, Rebekah Ruth Duross, Lily Katherine Duross, Raymond Emmett Berry, Anna Hall Berry, Taylor Crook Berry, Abigail Miller Berry and Hadassah Andrea Berry. He is preceded in death by his father, Mark Raymond Berry; his mother, Bess Hudgins Berry; and his sister, Peggy Ann Justiss (Jesse). Pallbearers are Raymond “Emmett” Berry, Luke Duross, David Justiss, Tom Bass, Tom Crook, Steve Wich, Barney Hellenbrand, Mark Fuqua.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to: Christ Our Refuge Presbyterian Church, 925 W. Main St, Albertville, AL 35950.

The family will hold a private funeral service.