[msb-alumni] Tom Dempsey Dies at 73 on April 4, 2020; Kicked a Record 63-Yard Field Goal With No Toes
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2020 14:41:40 -0400
Blank
This is probably the last memory I have of my Grandpa; I remember being up at
their
house in the Sault. They had a Philco TV with one of those weird pieces of
Mylar
taped to the screen.
I figured the Lions had that game won; it was just disbelief when he made that.
Steve
Tom Dempsey Dies at 73; Kicked a Record 63-Yard Field Goal With No Toes. By
Richard
Goldstein.
He was born without toes on his right foot, but spent 11 seasons in the N.F.L.
and
kicked 159 field goals. He died of complications of the coronavirus. This
obituary is
part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic
Tom Dempsey, who was born without toes on his right foot or fingers on his
right hand
but played for 11 N.F.L. seasons as a place-kicker and was remembered for his
game-winning, 63-yard field goal for the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 8, 1970, a
league
record at the time, died on Saturday at an assisted living center in New
Orleans. He
was 73. His wife, Carlene, said the cause was complications of the coronavirus,
which
he contracted on March 25 at the Lambeth House center, where he had been
treated for
dementia that was diagnosed in 2010. At 6 feet 2 inches and 255 pounds,
Dempsey
relished running downfield to deliver hits to cover his kickoffs and had
sustained
several concussions, his family told The New York Times in 2013.
The Saints' opponents on the day Dempsey set the record, the Detroit Lions,
were
laughing on the sidelines at Tulane Stadium at the absurd notion that he could
connect as he prepared for what became his astonishing kick. Seconds later the
Lions
had been defeated, 19-17.
"I was more concerned about kicking it straight because I felt I could handle
the
distance," Dempsey told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans afterward. He said he
had
received a perfect snap and hold and "I hit it sweet."
Dempsey's 63-yarder was later matched by three other kickers but wasn't
exceeded
until the Denver Broncos' Matt Prater kicked a 64-yarder in 2013 in the thin
air of
the Rocky Mountains, setting a mark that still stands. (Ironically, Prater is
now the
Lions kicker.)
Dempsey hit 22 field goals in 41 attempts as a rookie in 1969, when he was
voted to
the Pro Bowl, and succeeded on 18 of 34 tries in 1970. But he was cut before
the 1971
season after faring poorly in exhibition games. He went on to play with the
Eagles,
the Los Angeles Rams, the Houston Oilers and the Buffalo Bills, though he never
regained the form he displayed with the Saints. He retired after the 1979
season with
159 field goals in 258 tries and 252 extra points on 282 attempts.
Thomas John Dempsey was born on Jan. 12, 1947, in Milwaukee and grew up in
Southern
California. His father, Huey, was a mechanic for a public utility company and
joined
with his mother, LaVerne (Sorce) Dempsey, in owning a jewelry store in
Encinitas. He
was a defensive lineman and kicker in high school, played briefly at Palomar
College
in San Diego County and was signed by the Saints as an undrafted player. After
retiring from football, he worked as an oil field salesman in Louisiana until
the
late 1980s and ran a car dealership owned by the Saints' owner, Tom Benson.
In addition to his wife, Dempsey is survived by his daughters Ashley Dempsey
and
Meghan Dempsey Crosby; his son, Toby; his sister Janice MacArthur and three
grandchildren.
Dempsey loved New Orleans nightlife. He and Carlene were dating at the time of
the
63-yard kick. 'He courted me mainly at the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon
Street,' she
told The Times in 2013, recalling that she did not hear from him for days after
his
stunning field goal. 'It was Thursday before he called me,' she said, adding
that Tom
explained that some New Orleans police officers had rewarded him with a couple
of
cases of cold Dixie beer in the locker room after the game, and it became a
long
night of celebrating. Carlene married him two months later. Dempsey had a
custom shoe
that featured a flattened and enlarged toe surface. The shoe he was wearing for
his
epic kick is held by the Saints at their Hall of Fame; another of his special
shoes
is at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Dempsey's 63-yard field
goal
came on a straight-on stance at a time when soccer-style kicking was arriving.
At the
time, Tex Schramm, then the president and general manager of the Dallas
Cowboys,
complained that Dempsey's misshapen foot with his special shoe gave him an
unfair
advantage in making contact with the ball. The N.F.L. added a rule in 1977
stating
that 'any shoe that is worn by a player with an artificial limb on his kicking
leg
must have a kicking surface that conforms to that of a normal kicking shoe. In
response, Dempsey, as quoted on the Saints' website, once said: 'Unfair, eh?
How
about you try kicking a 63-yard field goal to win it with two seconds left and
you're
wearing a square shoe. Oh yeah, and no toes either.
Other related posts:
- » [msb-alumni] Tom Dempsey Dies at 73 on April 4, 2020; Kicked a Record 63-Yard Field Goal With No Toes - Steve
