MURFREESBORO — Raymond Berry died on May 25, 2026, at the age of 93. He died peacefully at home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, surrounded by family, including his wife of 65 years, Sally.

Berry was a Hall of Fame wide receiver who teamed with Baltimore quarterback Johnny Unitas. He helped lead the Colts to victory over the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL championship game, catching 12 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown. During that game, he made three consecutive receptions on the 86-yard drive that tied the game 17-17 in regulation and two crucial catches on the 80-yard overtime drive that secured a 23-17 win.

Berry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973, elected in his first year of eligibility. He was named to the NFL’s 50th, 75th, and 100 All-Time Teams. Over 13 seasons and 154 regular-season games, he caught 631 passes for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns, led the league in receptions three times, and played in six Pro Bowls. The Baltimore Colts retired his uniform number, 82, and Southern Methodist University retired his college number, 87.

After retiring from playing in 1967, Berry served as a wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots. He became head coach of the Patriots from 1984 to 1989, compiling a 48-39 record. His 1985 team went 11-5 and reached Super Bowl XX, where it lost to the Chicago Bears, 46-10. Berry pushed for the team to adopt drug testing after the Super Bowl, a stance that drew opposition from the NFL players union.

“In NFL history, there are only a handful of players who we can say truly changed the sport. Raymond Berry is one of the few names on that list,” Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said. “As a player during a historic era of Colts football, Raymond redefined the standard for what a wide receiver could and should be. Simply put, not only was Raymond Berry one of the greatest players in the history of the Colts, but he was one of the most influential and foundational players of the modern NFL.”

“Raymond Berry holds a special place in Patriots history,” team owner Robert Kraft said. “He led our franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance following a remarkable playoff run, a milestone that was the greatest achievement in team history at the time.”

Berry, who married Sally Crook in 1960 and had three children, was known for his meticulous preparation, developing 88 separate pass routes and rarely dropping passes. He once described his early days with Unitas as humble: “I didn’t know my butt from first base about how to run pass routes,” he told Sports & Torts. “If you saw both of us in training camp in 1956, you may have gone away sobbing. We were two pitiful football players, good grief.”