Tom Dempsey
{{Short description|American football player (1947–2020)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Tom Dempsey
| image = Tom Dempsey 1975.jpg
| caption = Dempsey with the Los Angeles Rams in 1975
| number = 19, 10, 23, 6
| position = Placekicker
| birth_date = {{birth date|1947|1|12}}
| birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|4|4|1947|1|12}}
| death_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lbs = 255
| high_school = San Dieguito
(Encinitas, California)
| college = Palomar
| undraftedyear = 1968
| pastteams =
- San Diego Chargers ({{NFL Year|1968}})*
- New Orleans Saints ({{NFL Year|1969}}–{{NFL Year|1970}})
- Philadelphia Eagles ({{NFL Year|1971}}–{{NFL Year|1974}})
- Los Angeles Rams ({{NFL Year|1975}}–{{NFL Year|1976}})
- Houston Oilers ({{NFL Year|1977}})
- Buffalo Bills ({{NFL Year|1978}}–{{NFL Year|1979}})
| highlights =
- First-team All-Pro (1969)
- Pro Bowl (1969)
- George Halas Award (1971)
- New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame
| statlabel1 = PAT
| statvalue1 = 252/282 (89.4%)
| statlabel2 = FG
| statvalue2 = 159/258 (61.6%)
| pfr = D/DempTo20
}}
Thomas John Dempsey (January 12, 1947{{spaced ndash}}April 4, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. Unlike the "soccer-style" approach which was becoming more and more widely used during his career, Dempsey's kicking style was the then-standard straight-toe style.{{cite news|last=Mitchell|first=Fred|title=IT'S A GAME OF INCHES . . . AND FEET|date=December 24, 1995|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-09-24-9509240039-story.html|access-date=April 5, 2020}} With the Saints in 1970, he made a 63-yard field goal, setting an NFL record which stood for over 40 years.
Early life and education
Dempsey was born in Milwaukee and attended high school and college in Southern California. He was born with no toes on his right foot and no fingers on his right hand. To accommodate his foot structure, Dempsey wore a custom, flat-front kicking shoe that had no toe box.{{cite news |last=McLaughlin |first=Eliott C. |date=April 5, 2020 |title=Tom Dempsey, NFL kicker who set a record for the longest field goal, dies of coronavirus |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/05/us/tom-dempsey-nfl-kicker-dies-coronavirus-trnd/index.html |access-date=April 5, 2020 |work=CNN |publisher=WarnerMedia |location=Atlanta}}
NFL career
Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot and no fingers on his right hand. He wore a modified shoe with a flattened and enlarged toe surface. The custom-made $200 ({{Inflation|US|200|1970|fmt=eq}}) shoe{{Cite magazine|last=ggramling|title=Tom Dempsey's Boot|url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2014/05/20/nfl-history-in-95-objects-tom-dempsey-boot|access-date=2021-02-09|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=May 20, 2014 |language=en-us}} generated controversy about whether such a shoe gave a player an unfair advantage.{{cite news|last=Daye|first=Raymond L.|date=December 2, 2014|title=Remembering "The Kick"|location=Marksville, Louisiana|publisher=Avoyelles Publishing Company|url=http://avoyellestoday.com/index.php/sports/1750-remembering-the-kick|work=Avoyelles Journal |access-date=January 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104052651/http://avoyellestoday.com/index.php/sports/1750-remembering-the-kick|archive-date=January 4, 2015}}{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Michael|title=The Kick Is Up and It's...A Career-Killer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/sports/playmagazine/28lewis.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 28, 2007|access-date=May 25, 2010}} When reporters would ask him if he thought it was unfair, he said, "Unfair, eh? How 'bout you try kickin' a 63-yard field goal to win it with 2 seconds left an' yer wearin' a square shoe, oh yeah, and no toes either." Additionally, ESPN Sport Science analyzed Dempsey's kick and determined his modified shoe gave Dempsey no advantage.{{cite web|title=World's Longest Field Goal|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu7IqQNA6Ls| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408053649/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu7IqQNA6Ls| archive-date=2017-04-08 | url-status=dead|publisher=ESPN Sport's Science}}
The league made two rule changes in the subsequent years to discourage further long field goal attempts. The first was in 1974, which moved the goal posts from the goal line to the back of the end zone, adding ten yards to the kick distance, and awarded the ball to the defense on a missed kick at the spot where the ball was snapped. (This was changed in 1994 to the spot of the kick.) Then, in 1977, the NFL added a rule, informally known as the "Tom Dempsey Rule", 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."{{cite web|url=http://www.footballresearch.com/articles/frpage.cfm?topic=rulesname|title=Rules of the Name, or How the Emmitt Rule Became the Emmitt Rule|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211145916/http://www.footballresearch.com/articles/frpage.cfm?topic=rulesname|work=Professional Football Researchers Association|location=Grand Island, New York|publisher=PFRA|archive-date=December 11, 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/2006%20NFL%20RULEBOOK.pdf|title=Official NFL Rulebook 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216075609/http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/2006%20NFL%20RULEBOOK.pdf|work=The News Tribune|publisher=McClatchy|location=Tacoma, Washington|archive-date=February 16, 2010}}See Rule 5, Section 3, Article 3 Paragraph (g)
=Field goal record=
Dempsey is most widely known for kicking a 63-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints a 19–17 win over the Detroit Lions on November 8, 1970, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.{{cite book|last=Rovin|first=Jeff|title=In Search of Trivia|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New York City|year=1984|edition=1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/insearchoftrivia00jeff/page/408 408]|isbn=978-0451162502|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/insearchoftrivia00jeff/page/408}} Prior to 1974, the goal posts in the NFL were on the goal lines instead of the end lines.{{cite news|last=Tainier|first=Mike|title=Manadatory Monday: Snow Mess|date=December 9, 2013|work=Sports On Earth|publisher=MLB Advanced Media|location= |url=http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/64493936/|access-date=April 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201035118/http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/64493936/|archive-date=February 1, 2018|url-status=dead}} With time running out in the game, the Saints attempted a field goal with holder Joe Scarpati spotting at the Saints' own 37-yard line. The snap from Jackie Burkett was good, and Dempsey's kick just barely cleared the crossbar to make the try good.{{cite news|last=Culpepper|first=Chuck|title=Still The One|date=December 10, 2013|work=Sports on Earth|url=http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/64526706|publisher=MLB Advanced Media|location= |access-date=April 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410151626/http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/64526706|archive-date=April 10, 2020|url-status=dead}} The win was one of only two for the Saints that season.{{cite news|last=Vargas|first=Ramon Antonio|title=Tom Dempsey, historic New Orleans Saints placekicker, dies at 73 after coronavirus battle|date=April 4, 2020|newspaper=The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate|publisher=Georges Media Group|location=New Orleans|url=https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/article_f4822bdf-7ef3-522e-8634-54ad5805dc21.html|access-date=April 5, 2020}}
With the kick, Dempsey broke Bert Rechichar's NFL record for longest field goal by seven yards. His record was tied three times—by Jason Elam with the Denver Broncos in 1998, Sebastian Janikowski with the Oakland Raiders in 2011, and David Akers with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Ted|title=Denver kicker breaks Tom Dempsey's record with 64-yard field goal|date=December 8, 2013|newspaper=The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate|publisher=Georges Media Group|location=New Orleans|url=https://www.nola.com/sports/article_10db0910-6987-5319-a780-12bb2c94a5b8.html|access-date=April 5, 2020}}—before it was broken on December 8, 2013,
by Matt Prater, who hit a 64-yard field goal. On Sunday, September 26, 2021, Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens broke that record with a 66-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Detroit Lions. This walk-off kick eclipsed both Dempsey's and Graham Gano's 63-yarder in 2018 as the longest field goal to win a game on its final play.{{cite news|last=Wallace|first=Eric J.|title=Tate grad Graham Gano ties NFL record with 63-yard winner|date=October 7, 2018|newspaper=Pensacola News Journal|url=https://www.pnj.com/story/sports/2018/10/07/tate-grad-graham-gano-ties-nfl-record-63-yard-game-winner/1560655002/|access-date=April 7, 2020}}
Since Dempsey was the only kicker to make a field goal from more than sixty yards prior to the relocation of the goal posts, he remains the only player in NFL history to successfully kick a field goal from beyond his own team's 40-yard line.
Career regular season statistics
Career high/best bolded
| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="margin: auto; text-align:right; font-size:90%; width:800px;" | ||||||||||||||||
| style="background-color:#dcdcdc;" colspan="17" | Regular season statistics {{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/elamxjas01.htm|title=Jason Elam Stats|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}} | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="font-size:x-small;"
!Season | Team (record) | {{abbr|G|Games}} | {{abbr|FGM|Field goals made}} | {{abbr|FGA|Field goals attempted}} | {{abbr|%|Field goal success percentage}} | {{abbr|<20|Field goals under 20 yards}} | {{abbr|20-29|Field goals between 20 and 29 yards}} | {{abbr|30-39|Field goals between 30 and 39 yards}} | {{abbr|40-49|Field goals between 40 and 49 yards}} | {{abbr|50+|Field goals 50 yards or over}} | {{abbr|LNG|Longest successful field goal}} | {{abbr|BLK|Blocked kicks}} | {{abbr|XPM|Extra points made}} | {{abbr|XPA|Extra points attempted}} | {{abbr|%|Extra point success percentage}} | {{abbr|PTS|Points}} |
| style="text-align:center;"|1969 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|NO (5–9)
|14 | 22 | 41 | 53.7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 3–6 | 7–11 | 1–11 | 55 | 0 | 33 | 35 | 94.3 | 99 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1970 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|NO (2–11–1)
|14 | 18 | 34 | 52.9 | 4–5 | 6–8 | 1–5 | 4–7 | 3–9 | 63 | 0 | 16 | 17 | 94.1 | 70 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1971 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|PHI (6–7–1)
|5 | 12 | 17 | 70.6 | 0–0 | 6–7 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–5 | 54 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 92.9 | 49 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1972 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|PHI (2–11–1)
|14 | 20 | 35 | 57.1 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 7–10 | 2–9 | 2–4 | 52 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 91.7 | 71 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1973 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|PHI (5–8–1)
|14 | 24 | 40 | 60.0 | 7–7 | 4–7 | 7–11 | 4–9 | 2–6 | 51 | 0 | 34 | 34 | 100.0 | 106 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1974 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|PHI (7–7)
|14 | 10 | 16 | 62.5 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–6 | 4–6 | 0–1 | 48 | 0 | 26 | 30 | 86.7 | 56 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1975 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|LAR (12–2)
|14 | 21 | 26 | 80.8 | 2–2 | 7–7 | 7–10 | 4–5 | 1–2 | 51 | 0 | 31 | 36 | 86.1 | 94 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1976 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|LAR (10–3–1)
|14 | 17 | 26 | 65.4 | 2–2 | 5–8 | 4–5 | 6–10 | 0–1 | 49 | 0 | 36 | 44 | 81.8 | 87 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1977 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|HOU (8–6)
|5 | 4 | 6 | 66.7 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 37 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 72.7 | 20 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1978 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|BUF (5–11)
|16 | 10 | 13 | 76.9 | 0–0 | 5–5 | 4–5 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 46 | 0 | 36 | 38 | 94.7 | 66 | |
| style="text-align:center;"|1979 | style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|BUF (7–9)
|3 | 1 | 4 | 25.0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 72.7 | 11 | |
| colspan="2"|Career (11 seasons) ||127 ||159 ||258 ||61.6 ||28–30 ||46–60 ||39–64 ||34–65 ||12–39 ||63 ||0 ||252 ||282 ||89.4 ||729 |
Source:{{Cite pro-football-reference |name=Tom Dempsey|id=D/DempTo20|access-date=April 5, 2020}}
Post-career
{{rquote|right|The hurricane flooded me out of a lot of memorabilia, but it can't flood out the memories.|Dempsey on the effects of Hurricane Katrina}}
In 1983, Dempsey was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame.{{cite web|last=Ford|first=Mark L.|title=Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame: The First 100 (or so) Members, 1981-1989|website=AmericanFootballAssn.com|url=https://www.americanfootballassn.com/forms/AFA-SPFHOF.pdf|access-date=April 5, 2020}}{{cite news|last=Poliquin|first=Bud|title=Pat Killorin, Syracuse's two-time All-American center, is a Semi-Pro Football Hall-of-Famer|date=July 27, 2004|website=Syracuse.com|url=https://www.syracuse.com/poliquin/2014/06/pat_killorin_syracuses_two-time_all-american_is_a_semi-pro_football_hall-of-fame.html|access-date=April 5, 2020}}
After retiring from professional football, Dempsey resided with his wife Carlene, who taught history at Kehoe-France, a private school in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. His house was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/sports/football/30dempsey.html|last=Crouse|first=Karen|title=A Favorite Saint|work=The New York Times|date=January 30, 2010|access-date=April 5, 2020}}
Personal life and death
Dempsey married Carlene and had three children, one named Ashley.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/ex-nfl-kicker-saints-hero-tom-dempsey-dies-while-battling-n1177181|title=Ex-NFL kicker, Saints hero Tom Dempsey dies while battling coronavirus at 73|agency=Associated Press|work=NBC News|location=New York City|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2020}}
In January 2013, Dempsey revealed he had dementia. Psychiatrist Daniel Amen made the initial diagnosis of damage to Dempsey's brain. During medical examinations and scans, Amen found three holes in the brain, along with other damage.{{cite news|title= For former kicker, the price of fearlessness|first=Brett Michael|last=Dykes|date=January 27, 2013|work=The New York Times|location=New York City|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/sports/football/super-bowl-tom-dempsey-former-nfl-kicker-is-dealing-with-dementia.html|access-date=April 5, 2020}}
On March 30, 2020, Dempsey tested positive for COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic.{{cite news|title=Famed New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey has coronavirus|first=Mike|last=Triplett|date=March 30, 2020|work=ESPN.com|location=Bristol, Connecticut|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story?id=28971803&_slug_=famed-new-orleans-saints-kicker-tom-dempsey-coronavirus|access-date= March 31, 2020}} He was one of 15 residents at a New Orleans senior residence to test positive for the virus. Dempsey died on April 4, 2020, due to COVID.{{cite news|last=Gordon|first=Grant|title=Legendary Saints kicker Tom Dempsey dies at 73|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/legendary-saints-kicker-tom-dempsey-dies-at-73-0ap3000001108372|website=NFL.com|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 11, 2020}}{{cite news|last=Goldstein|first=Richard|title=Tom Dempsey, Record-Setting Kicker, Dies at 73|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/obituaries/tom-dempsey-dead.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 6, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Footballstats|nfl=2512783|pfr=D/DempTo20}}
{{New Orleans Saints}}
{{New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame}}
{{NFL on CBS}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Tom}}
Category:Players of American football from Metairie, Louisiana
Category:American disabled sportspeople
Category:Players of American football from Milwaukee
Category:American football placekickers
Category:Palomar Comets football players
Category:New Orleans Saints players
Category:Philadelphia Eagles players
Category:Los Angeles Rams players
Category:Houston Oilers players
Category:Buffalo Bills players