View source for 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 Academy|San Dieguito]]<br />([[Encinitas, California]])
| college       = [[Palomar 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}})
* [[History of the Houston Oilers|Houston Oilers]] ({{NFL Year|1977}})
* [[Buffalo Bills]] ({{NFL Year|1978}}–{{NFL Year|1979}})
| highlights    =
* First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1969 All-Pro Team|1969]])
* [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1970 Pro Bowl|1969]])
* [[George Halas Award]] (1971)
* [[New Orleans Saints#New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame|New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame]]
| statlabel1    = [[conversion (gridiron football)|PAT]]
| statvalue1    = 252/282 (89.4%)
| statlabel2    = [[Field goal (American and Canadian football)|FG]]
| statvalue2    = 159/258 (61.6%)
| pfr           = D/DempTo20
}}

'''Thomas John Dempsey''' (January 12, 1947{{spaced ndash}}April 4, 2020) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[placekicker]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for the [[New Orleans Saints]], [[Philadelphia Eagles]], [[Los Angeles Rams]], [[History of the Houston Oilers|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="McLaughlin">{{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]]}}</ref>

==NFL career==
[[File:Tom dempsey.jpg|thumb|upright=1|left|Dempsey's special kicking shoe]]
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 [[United States dollar|$]]200 ({{Inflation|US|200|1970|fmt=eq}}) shoe<ref>{{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}}</ref> generated controversy about whether such a shoe gave a player an unfair advantage.<ref name=daye_12022014>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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."<ref name=daye_12022014/> Additionally, [[ESPN]] ''[[Sport Science (TV series)|Sport Science]]'' analyzed Dempsey's kick and determined his modified shoe gave Dempsey no advantage.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

The league made two rule changes in the subsequent years to discourage further long field goal attempts. The first was in [[1974 NFL season|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 NFL season|1994]] to the spot of the kick.) Then, in 1977, the [[1977 NFL season#Major rule changes|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."<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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)</ref>

===Field goal record===
Dempsey is most widely known for kicking a 63-yard [[field goal]] as time expired to give the [[1970 New Orleans Saints season|Saints]] a 19–17 win over the [[1970 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions]] on November 8, 1970, at [[Tulane Stadium]] in [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> Prior to [[1974 NFL season|1974]], the goal posts in the NFL were on the goal lines instead of the end lines.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name=culpepper_12102013>{{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}}</ref> The win was one of only two for the Saints that season.<ref name=vargas_04042020>{{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}}</ref>

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 NFL season|1998]], [[Sebastian Janikowski]] with the [[Oakland Raiders]] in [[2011 NFL season|2011]], and [[David Akers]] with the [[San Francisco 49ers]] in [[2012 NFL season|2012]]<ref>{{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}}</ref>—before it was broken on December 8, 2013,
by [[Matt Prater]], who hit a 64-yard field goal.<ref name=vargas_04042020/>  On Sunday, September 26, 2021, [[Justin Tucker]] of the [[2021 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens]] broke that record with a 66-yard field goal as time expired to beat the [[2021 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions]]. This walk-off kick eclipsed both Dempsey's and [[Graham Gano]]'s 63-yarder in [[2018 NFL season|2018]] as the longest field goal to win a game on its final play.<ref name=culpepper_12102013/><ref>{{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}}</ref>

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 <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/elamxjas01.htm|title=Jason Elam Stats|website=[[Pro-Football-Reference.com]]}}</ref>
|- 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 NFL season|1969]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[New Orleans Saints|NO]] ([[1969 New Orleans Saints season|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 NFL season|1970]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[New Orleans Saints|NO]] ([[1970 New Orleans Saints season|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 NFL season|1971]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[Philadelphia Eagles|PHI]] ([[1971 Philadelphia Eagles season|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 NFL season|1972]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[Philadelphia Eagles|PHI]] ([[1972 Philadelphia Eagles season|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 NFL season|1973]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[Philadelphia Eagles|PHI]] ([[1973 Philadelphia Eagles season|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 NFL season|1974]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[Philadelphia Eagles|PHI]] ([[1974 Philadelphia Eagles season|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 NFL season|1975]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[Los Angeles Rams|LAR]] ([[1975 Los Angeles Rams season|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 NFL season|1976]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[Los Angeles Rams|LAR]] ([[1976 Los Angeles Rams season|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 NFL season|1977]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[History of the Houston Oilers|HOU]] ([[1977 Houston Oilers season|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 NFL season|1978]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[Buffalo Bills|BUF]] ([[1978 Buffalo Bills season|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 NFL season|1979]] ||style="text-align:left;" nowrap="nowrap"|[[Buffalo Bills|BUF]] ([[1979 Buffalo Bills season|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:<ref>{{Cite pro-football-reference |name=Tom Dempsey|id=D/DempTo20|access-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref>

==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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Dempsey married Carlene and had three children, one named Ashley.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

On March 30, 2020, Dempsey tested positive for [[COVID-19]] during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|coronavirus pandemic]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

==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:1947 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[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]]
[[Category:Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana]]