Ex-Cougar, 49er remained humble

A few months after he retired from the San Francisco 49ers, football great Charles "Rex" Berry was at a park in Sandy, throwing and kicking the football around with his only son, Doug Berry, who would go on to be a successful prep football coach at Jordan and Alta high schools. A man wandered over, told the Berrys he had played college football in northern California, and started giving them some tips, totally oblivious to the fact that Rex "Carbon Comet" Berry was one of the 100 greatest athletes in Utah history, an all-pro defensive back in the NFL, a three-sport all-conference star at BYU and a four-sport all-stater at Price's Carbon High. "I kept asking Dad to tell the man who he was, but Dad never did," Doug Berry recalled. "He was so humble that way. He thanked the man, told him 'you are a great athlete,' and we went on our way without the man ever knowing that Dad played for the 49ers." Rex Berry died Friday at his home in Provo of complications from a heart condition. He was 80. Doug Berry said his father suffered a major heart attack on July 24, 2004, but was doing relatively well and was living at home with his wife of almost 60 years, Helen, until his condition worsened the past week. "Mom had a stroke eight years ago and has been in a wheelchair ever since," Berry said. "Dad took care of her night and day the last six years . . . he taught us so much about love and devotion that way." Rex Berry, who was nicknamed "Reliable Rex" by San Francisco newspapers, was a competitor to the end, his son said. "I would go over and play cribbage with him, and he wouldn't even let me beat him at that," Doug Berry said. "There was never any slack from him."

After he was selected in the 14th round of the 1950 NFL draft, Rex Berry recorded 22 interceptions in his pro career, a 49er record until Ronnie Lott broke it in the 1980s. He retired from professional football in 1957 and went to work for U.S. Steel and then Coastal Chemical Corporation. Born in Moab and raised in Helper, Berry was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. He is also in the BYU Sports Hall of Fame and the College of Eastern Utah Hall of Fame. He spent four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II and became quite a war historian after his pro football career. "He was a great man in all aspects," Doug Berry said. "He just loved his country, most of all." After his time in the navy, Berry starred at Carbon College (now College of Eastern Utah) in football and basketball before moving on to BYU. At BYU, he was all-conference in football and also played baseball and ran track. The football field at Helper Junior High is named "Rex Berry Field" in his honor. "It was such an honor to be Rex Berry's son because everybody loved him and appreciated him," Doug Berry said. Berry is survived by his wife, son, two daughters (Linda and Julie), 14 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren. Funeral services are Thursday at noon at the LDS chapel at 3500 North and 180 East, Provo.

Jay Drew The Salt Lake Tribune