Record-setting NFL kicker dies of coronavirus effects
TOM DEMPSEY, 1947-2020
Tom Dempsey, who held the NFL record for longest field goal for more than 40 years, died late Saturday in New Orleans of complications from the novel coronavirus, his daughter said. He was 73.
The Times-Picayune/ New Orleans Advocate said Dempsey contracted the virus in March during an outbreak at the Lambeth House retirement home in Uptown New Orleans, where he lived for several years after being diagnosed with dementia. He is one of at least 15 residents there to die after being stricken with the disease.
Dempsey, who was born Jan. 12, 1947, in Milwaukee with half a right foot and just a thumb and pinkie on his right hand, is remembered for one monster kick.
On Nov. 8, 1970, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, he kicked an NFL-record 63yard field goal on the final play to give the Saints a 19-17 win over the Detroit Lions.
“Tell Stumpy [Dempsey’s nickname] to get ready to kick a long one,”
Saints special-teams coach Don Heinrich said at the time, according to media reports.
The 23-year-old Dempsey, who kicked straight on with a flat-front shoe, had no idea “long” was 63 yards — seven yards farther than the NFL record at the time.
“I thought I could handle the distance, whatever it was,” Dempsey, who already had kicked three field goals in the game, told the North County Times in 2012. “I was more concerned with kicking it straight.”
The ball sneaked over the crossbar, setting off a wild celebration with Dempsey being carried off the field by his teammates.
Dempsey’s kick stood as an NFL record for 43 years until the Broncos’ Matt Prater broke it with a 64yarder in Denver in 2013. Three other NFL players have kicked a 63-yarder outside of Denver, where the mile-high altitude helps carry the ball farther.
“Tom’s life spoke directly to the power of the human spirit and exemplified his resolute determination to not allow setbacks to impede following his dreams and aspirations,” Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a statement. “He exemplified the same fight and fortitude in recent years as he battled valiantly against illnesses but never wavered and kept his trademark sense of humor.”
Dempsey — who played 11 seasons in the NFL — was a multisport athlete at San
Dieguito High in San Diego and Palomar Community College in San Marcos. He was a two-way starter for Palomar and an all-conference defensive tackle. He was also an outstanding wrestler and shot putter.
In August 2012, he was honored along with 14 others in Palomar’s inaugural Athletic
Hall of Fame.
“Tom was one hell of an athlete,” former Palomar teammate Junior Morton said then. “He was a great lineman — both on offense and defense. He wrestled, and he threw the shot. He never let the hand or foot stop him.”
And while he gained fame as a kicker, he had never kicked before attending Palomar.
“We had a pretty good kicker, but he had trouble on kickoffs,” Dempsey said. “One day, a bunch of us were standing around and a coach said, ‘Which one of you [guys] can kick?’ I took off my shoe and kicked one out of the end zone. He asked me to do it again, and I did.”
Those kicks earned Dempsey the job, and a star was born.
Dempsey played two seasons with the Saints, four with Philadelphia, two with the Rams, one with Houston and two with Buffalo. He was first-team All-NFL in 1969 and finished his career making 159 of 258 field-goal tries.
Dempsey said he had six concussions in his 11-year career. Until his illness, he worked with concussion patients at Tulane University.
“I had a good, long career and had a lot of fun,” Dempsey said.
He is survived by his wife, Carlene; three children; a sister and three grandchildren.