Before the 1958 NFL championship game at Yankee Stadium, he meticulously checked the stadium turf for slick spots.
His efforts resulted in 12 receptions, helping Baltimore defeat the New York Giants 23-17 in sudden-death overtime, a matchup dubbed "The Greatest Game Ever Played."
His unique routine included carrying a bathroom scale on road trips, cooking his own salmon meals, and washing his own practice uniforms.
He spent up to 13 hours on his days off studying game films using a 16-mm Bell & Howell projector that he specifically requested in his contract.
“He was the hardest-working guy of all time,” Colts fullback Alan Ameche once said. “Raymond would stay after practice and work on impossible catches with Unitas.”
Berry innovated several receiving techniques, including using the goalpost uprights to screen defenders and pioneering contact lenses on the field.
He wore a shoe lift and a canvas hip brace to manage a chronic back condition, and once played through his 1955 rookie year with a dislocated finger.
“People thought I was nuts,” Berry told The Baltimore Sun in 2011. “But one of the gifts I had was drive; it pushed me to explore every boundary.”
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Berry is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sally Crook Berry, his son Mark Raymond Berry, daughters Suzanne Wich and Ashley Bass, and nine grandchildren.
