Bertrand Demond Berry (born August 15, 1975) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL).
Early years
Berry, whose nickname is "King" started his football career in the Humble Area Football League with the Cardinals as a running bac
HAFLBerry attended
Humble High School
Humble High School (HHS) is a secondary school in the Humble Independent School District in Humble, Texas, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 for the city of Humble, the Moonshine Hill area of Houston, and unincorporated communities no ...
in
Humble, Texas
Humble ( ) is a city located in the Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas. Humble ...
, and was a star running back for the Wildcats.
where he was a three-sport standout in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, and
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
. In basketball, he was a two-time all-district selection, and in track, he threw the
discus and set the school record for the shuttle hurdle relays.
College career
Berry attended the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
and was a four-year
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. He finished his
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
football career with 187 tackles and 16.5 sacks.
Professional career
Berry was selected by the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
in the third round of the
1997 NFL Draft
The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...
, starting out as a
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
before switching to defensive end. He spent most of his time there playing between
defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
and
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
,
starting most of the games on defense. He signed with the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arri ...
in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, but was cut during training camp.
He signed with the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
on September 26, 2000 on October 11 after seeing action in two games. He recorded one tackle in his two appearances.
By the
2003 season
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
with the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
, he was the starter at defensive end and led the team in tackles and sacks. He was picked up as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
by Arizona before the
2004 season, during which he was named as a starter to represent the
NFC
NFC may refer to:
Psychology
* Need for cognition, in psychology
* Need for closure, social psychological term
Sports
* NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game
* NCAA Football Championship (Philippines)
* Nati ...
in the
2005 Pro Bowl
The 2005 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2004 season. The game was played February 13, 2005, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 38 – NFC 27. The most valuable player was Peyton Manning of the Colts ...
.
On March 18, 2009, Berry agreed to a one-year contract.
On January 21, 2010, Berry announced his retirement from the NFL. He finished his career with 232 total tackles, 65 sacks and 13 forced fumbles.
NFL statistics
Key
* GP: games played
* COMB: combined tackles
* TOTAL: total tackles
* AST: assisted tackles
* SACK: sacks
* FF: forced fumbles
* FR: fumble recoveries
Broadcasting career
In August 2011, Berry began hosting a radio show on The Fan AM 1060
KDUS
KDUS ( AM 1060) is a sports talk radio station broadcasting out of Tempe, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan radio market. It is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. and licensed to Phoenix FCC License Sub, LLC. Its studios are locate ...
in
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
called "The Bertrand Berry Show" with Mike Grose every weekday from 1:00 to 3:00. The show was cancelled effective December 28, 2012.
On April 23, 2015, Berry had a fill-in role for Ron Wolfley on the Doug and Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, a local Arizona radio station. On August 3, Berry began hosting "Off the Edge with B-Train" on
Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
References
External links
Arizona Cardinals bioFoundation Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Bertrand
1975 births
Living people
Players of American football from Houston
Players of Canadian football from Houston
African-American players of American football
American football defensive ends
American football outside linebackers
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players
Indianapolis Colts players
Denver Broncos players
Arizona Cardinals players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
African-American players of Canadian football
Canadian football defensive linemen
Edmonton Elks players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople
Ed Block Courage Award recipients