NFL fans are mourning the loss of one of the game’s true legends.

Raymond Berry, the Hall of Fame wide receiver best known for his unforgettable connection with Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts, has died at 93.

Berry’s family said he died peacefully at home on May 25 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement released through the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The football icon spent all 13 seasons of his playing career with the Colts, becoming one of the most dependable and respected receivers in NFL history.

Berry was not the flashiest player on the field.

But he was one of the most precise.

His route running, sure hands, and tireless preparation helped change the way pro football was played. He became a favorite target of Unitas, one of the greatest quarterbacks the game has ever seen.

Together, the pair helped build the modern passing game.

Berry was selected to six Pro Bowls, led the NFL three times in receptions and receiving yards, and twice led the league in touchdown catches. His No. 82 was retired by the Colts, and he was later named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team.

He is also honored in the Baltimore Ravens’ Ring of Honor.

“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,” Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said in a statement.

The Ravens also paid tribute, calling Berry “a football icon” and saying his impact on Baltimore sports and the NFL “will endure forever.”

For many fans, Berry will forever be remembered for his jaw-dropping performance in the legendary 1958 NFL Championship Game.

The showdown between the Colts and New York Giants became known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.”

It was the first sudden-death game in NFL history and is widely credited with helping launch the NFL into national superstardom.

Berry delivered when the spotlight was brightest.

He caught 12 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown as the Colts beat the Giants 23-17. His 12 catches stood as a championship game record until 2014.

The following season, Berry and the Colts won another NFL championship.

In 1959, he led the entire league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He finished that year with 66 catches, 959 yards, and 14 touchdowns.

That rare triple crown made him one of only a handful of players in NFL history to lead all three categories outright in a single season.

Berry’s numbers were even more remarkable because he played in an era when teams did not throw the ball nearly as often as they do today.

In 1960, when the NFL still played a 12-game schedule, Berry caught 74 passes for 1,298 yards. Only three other players in the league even topped 50 catches that season.

His rise to greatness was anything but expected.

Berry was drafted by the Colts in the 20th round in 1954 after catching just 33 passes in three seasons at SMU.

But he turned himself into one of the most polished receivers the league had ever seen.

By the time he retired after the 1967 season, Berry had 631 receptions, 9,275 receiving yards, and 68 touchdowns. At the time, his 631 catches were an NFL record.

Even more stunning, he fumbled just once in his entire career.

That was Raymond Berry.

Careful. Prepared. Reliable.

“Luck is something which happens when preparation meets opportunity,” Berry once said. “One play may make the difference in winning or losing a game. I must be prepared to make my own luck.”

Berry later moved into coaching, spending years as an assistant at both the college and NFL levels.

In 1984, he got his biggest coaching chance when the New England Patriots hired him as head coach after firing Ron Meyer during the season.

One year later, Berry led the wild-card Patriots on a stunning playoff run all the way to Super Bowl XX.

The Patriots ultimately lost to the dominant Chicago Bears, but Berry had still taken New England to its first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Berry “holds a special place in Patriots history.”

“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,” Kraft said.

Kraft also remembered Berry as a humble and deeply respected man.

“He was every bit the gentleman people knew him to be; humble, faithful, kind and deeply respected by all who knew him,” Kraft said.

Berry coached the Patriots through the 1989 season, finishing with a 48-39 overall record and one AFC title.

Years later, he still looked back warmly on his time in New England.

“It was a great six years for me,” Berry told ESPN in 2008. “I had some really great players, and you really enjoy coaching talent like that. And I still have New England fans to this day come up and talk about how much they enjoyed those years. Nice to have satisfied customers.”

From a 20th-round draft pick to a Hall of Fame legend, Raymond Berry built one of football’s most remarkable careers the hard way.

Now, generations of Colts, Patriots, and NFL fans are remembering him not just as a record-setting receiver and Super Bowl coach, but as one of the gentlemen of the game.