In Larry Wilson’s first preseason game in 1960, he was burned by the legendary Raymond Berry, a humbling experience that propelled Wilson to work harder and transition from cornerback to a Hall of Fame safety.

Berry passed away on May 25 at the age of 93. The Hall of Fame wide receiver played 13 seasons with the Baltimore Colts.

The Unforgiving Preseason Welcome

Wilson was drafted as a halfback by the Chicago Cardinals in the 7th round out of Utah after the 1959 season.

The Cardinals offered no bonus but a $ 9,500 salary contingent on him making the team. He almost didn’t.

Wilson lasted only one practice at running back.

“I had been an offensive back in college,” he said,  but after one day in camp, I summoned up all the courage I could find and told Coach (Pop) Ivy I wanted to try out on defense.”

Ivy agreed and turned Wilson over to defensive coordinator Chuck Drulis.

“Chuck gave me a shot at cornerback first, but I wasn’t fast enough so he put me at safety.”

Larry saw his first action in the third exhibition game against the Colts, the best team in football.

The young Wilson was matched up against Berry, who was known for his precision route-running and extensive prep work. Berry thoroughly tormented Wilson for several big plays, including two touchdowns. Wilson found himself benched immediately following the game and worried he would be cut from the roster.

“I got killed,” he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It might have been the lowest moment of my life. I was sure I was going to be cut as soon as the team returned to training camp.”

“Sure he got killed,” Drulis said after the game. “I was sure he would. The best defensive backs in football get their brains beat out every week by Ray Berry. I wanted to see how he would react. He never flinched. He never played it cozy,, laying back. He played his man tough all the way. I liked that.”

Wilson participated in the next two games but only played sporadically. As he approached the final exhibition game against the San Francisco 49ers, he believed he would be released afterward. Therefore, he asked his wife, Dee Ann, who had come to San Francisco to see him, to return home.

“You’d better go back to Rigby (Idaho),” he told her. “I expect I’ll be back there looking for a teaching job in a week or so. I’m all packed and ready to go.”

However, plans changed. Due to injuries, Larry was forced into action. He shut down the Niners’ top receiver, R.C. Owens, and intercepted a Y.A. Tittle pass to secure his position on the team. A week later, he would be the starting free safety in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

“That was my biggest thrill,” said Wilson, “making the club and then having us open with a big one over the Rams.”

Wilson’s Redemption and Legendary Career

The very same defensive coordinator who pulled him out of that Colts game, Chuck Drulis, went on to pioneer the “safety blitz” (a precursor to his nickname “Wildcat”). Wilson would go on to have a legendary 13-year career, famously intercepting a pass with two broken hands in 1965 and becoming one of the most punishing safeties in NFL history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978 and remained in the Cardinals front office for decades.

Berry’s Electrifying Career

Raymond Berry, who was already a two-time NFL Champion and one of Johnny Unitas’ favorite targets at the time of their matchup against Wilson, retired in 1967 as the NFL’s all-time leading receiver. He went on to have an impressive coaching career as well, taking the New England Patriots to their first-ever Super Bowl (Super Bowl XX) in 1985. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973.