History: NFL Draft Memories - Raymond Berry

Draft Memories: Raymond Berry

To be drafted into the National Football League is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thousands of players have experienced that joyful moment since the college draft was instituted by the NFL in 1936. However, only a select number of these drafted players excelled on the NFL gridiron to the point that earned them a bust in Canton. Over the years, Profootballhof.com has sat down and asked some Hall of Famers to relive their draft day.

"I was at SMU. My junior year in football had just ended in the fall of 1953," recalled Hall of Famer Raymond Berry recently for profootballhof.com. "This was my fourth year in college. I had played one year at a junior college (and) transferred to SMU."

Berry was a redshirt his first year at SMU. He didn't letter his sophomore year and he played on the second unit during his junior year. So, one can only imagine his reaction when reading the newspaper following the 1954 NFL Draft.

"When the NFL draft was published in the Dallas Morning News," Raymond continued. "I was thrilled beyond belief -- I had been drafted in the 20th round by the Baltimore Colts!"

Since Berry's chances looked slim of becoming a starter with the Mustangs, he decided to leave SMU and turn pro. However, a few weeks later, he was named SMU's co-caption for the '54 season so he decided to stay and play one last season of the collegiate football. In hindsight, Raymond made a good decision as he became a starter and went on to be named All-SWC and played in the East-West Game.

He joined the Colts in 1955 and stared with Baltimore through 1967. He retired from the NFL as the game's all-time leading pass receiver with 631 receptions for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns. Berry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973.