CARDS: Upper Deck Legends 1997 Certified
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2020
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
- Tom Dempsey played K at Palomar.
- Undrafted he’d sign with the Chargers in 1968 but not make the squad.
- In 1969 Dempsey joined the Saints, where he’s probably most favorably remembered for hitting an NFL record 63 yard field goal.
- During his first season in New Orleans he led the league with 41 field goal attempts and a 55 yard long.
- In both ’70 and ’71 he’d also have 63 and 54 yard field goals that’d lead the league.
- Before the 1971 season, Dempsey signed with the Eagles, playing with the team through the ’74 season.
- The Rams would sign Tom in 1975, where he’d hit a career high 80.8% field goals.
- He’d play for the Oilers in 1976 for 5 contests, before heading over to Buffalo to close out his career.
- Since retirement, Tom has battled much adversity.
- In 2005, he was flooded out by Hurricane Katrina.
- Then in 2013 he revealed that he was battling dementia.
ACCOLADES:
- New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame
- Pro Bowl 1969
- All Pro 1969
- George Halas Award 1971
- Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame
NOTES:
The NFL actively updated rules while and after Tom played. They felt because he had a flat front to his shoes (due to a birth defect) that he was able to hit longer field goals than other players. His 63 yard field goal record stood for over 40 years- before the NFL loosened kicking rules for footballs in the 2020’s.
EPITAPH:
4/4/20- After being diagnosed with COVID late in March, Tom passed away a few days later, during the early days of the pandemic at the age of 73