Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
I am not even considering Wayne.
Raymond Berry was likely the best receiver in the NFL for a good portion of his career. His numbers will never compare to those of today, as teams only played 12 games, then 14 all season. Also this was an era when many teams rushed for more yards than threw. He is simply one of the best ever as evidenced by his selection as one of the WR when the NFL's 75th anniversary team was announced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Berry |
Oilfan#81 has probably never heard of him.
I found reading about Raymond Berry to be one of the most interesting things I have ever come across in sports history. He never ever should have been drafted and would not have been drafted today. His work and study with Unitas made him the great receiver he was. He found that when the other Colts QB's would throw to him in practice the defensive backs had no problems covering him and keeping the ball away from him. When Unitas was under center, Barry was unstoppable. It all came down to the preparation and hours upon hours of the two watching film together and working together before and after practice.
Barry was also one of the first athletes to be a full time professional athlete in an era when players had off season jobs. He felt he needed to be sharp physically and mentally all year round to be able to compete with the superior athletes in the NFL. A very amazing story.