Ray Perkins, Coach at Alabama and in the N.F.L., Dies at 79

Unitas was wary of young receivers, but he took an immediate shine to Perkins, who had good speed and an intuitive grasp of the game.

“I could tell right away when he came to the team that he looked like he had been playing for four or five years in the N.F.L.,” said Upton Bell, the Colts’ director of player personnel in those years. “Forget Shula, you had to please Unitas, and he stepped right in.”

Perkins played five seasons at wide receiver and appeared in eight playoff games, including Super Bowl V, when the Colts beat the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, for their lone title in Baltimore.

After several knee surgeries, Perkins finished his N.F.L. career in 1971 with 93 catches for 1,538 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Perkins’s first marriage ended in divorce. In addition to his daughter Rachael, from his second marriage, he is survived by his second wife, Lisa Perkins; two sons from his first marriage, Martin Anthony Perkins, known as Tony, and Michael Ray Perkins, who works for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the N.F.L.; another daughter from his second marriage, Shelby Perkins; a sister, Susan Thornton; and two grandchildren. Another sister, Shirley Sellers, died in 2007.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/sports/football/ray-perkins-dead.html