Tag Archives: semi professional football hall of fame

NFL

Dempsey, Tom ‘The Bomb’ (1947-2020)

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

Arena, NFL

Swann, Eric

aprks91 eswannCards: Action Packed Rookies 1991, GameDay 1992
Acquired: 2016, Paid Signing

Eric Swann does not sign through the mail. When I saw this affordable signing, it was a no brainer to go ahead and send out two of my favorite cards.

Swann took a unique route to the pro level. Academically ineligible he was unable to begin college at NC State. Instead he enrolled in JC at Wake Technical, but left soon thereafter to join the semi professional football Bay State Titans in 1990.  During his single season with the Titans, Swann rocked the league with 72 total tackles, 11 sacks, 4 blocked field goals, and 4 forced fumbles playing at both defensive end and tackle.

The Arizona Cardinals fell in love with Swann’s unusual combination of size (6’3″, 311), strength (bench press of 400+ lbs), and speed (4.98 40). They’d select Eric with the 6th pick of the first round during the 1991 draft. He’d be the first non-college player chosen in the first round since Emil Sitko was selected by the Rams in 1946.

gday92 eswannSwann’s rookie season was slowed by injuries. Shortly after taking the field in minicamp, he blew out his knee and had to have arthroscopic surgery.  He’d see action in 12 games though, starting 3, and record 4 sacks to go along with 22 tackles.  Swann over the next few years solidified his role on the Cardinal defense, recording a career high 70 tackles in 1992, and 7 sacks in 1994.  Eric also recorded a safety in 3 straight seasons from 1992 to 1994.

1995 marked the first time in some 30 years that a defensive lineman from the Cardinals was named to the Pro Bowl, as Eric recorded the first of his two nominations, with 45 tackles, a career high 8.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble. A 1996 followup yielded another 3 fumble recoveries, 5 sacks, and 60 tackles.  Although Swann had an equally dominant 1997 campaign with 7.5 sacks and 52 tackles, he did not see any further Pro Bowls. Eric played for the Cardinals through the 1999 season, joining the Panthers for a final season in 2000.  At the time of his departure from the deserts of Arizona, Swann was the most decorated and feared lineman to play for the Cardinals.

Swann briefly popped up on the football radar again in 2007 playing for the Hudson Valley Saints, and later the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League in 2008.  He was also inducted into the Semi-Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

G/Gs 126/87        Tac 386          Sac 46.5         Fum 6
Int 2          Yds  42         Avg 21.0          Td  1         Lg 42t