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."

Jay Drew
The Salt Lake Tribune