Professional Football Player. For eleven seasons (1969 to 1979), he played at the kicker position in the National Football League with the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. In 1970, Dempsey set a then NFL record when he kicked a 63 yard field goal. The feat stood for more then two decades. Born Thomas John Dempsey (without toes on his right foot and fingers on his right hand), he was raised in California where he attended San Dieguito High School. In spite of his handicaps, he excelled in wrestling and football. He enrolled at Palomar College where he played collegiate football, initially as a defensive lineman, before transitioning to kicker. Signed as a non drafted player by the New Orleans Saints, his impact on the league was immediate as he achieved both Pro-Bowl and All-Pro honors in 1969. On November 8, 1970 in the New Orleans Saints' home field Tulane Stadium, Dempsey kicked his record setting 63 yard field goal (surpassing Baltimore Colts Bert Rechichar's 56 yard field set in 1953) against the Detroit Lions to give New Orleans a 19-17 victory in the game's closing seconds. Several players have since tied Dempsey's record and in 2013 Detroit Lions' kicker Matt Prater broke the record with his 64 yard field goal. In 127 career regular season games, Dempsey retired with a 61.6 Field Goal Percentage. In 1989, he was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. Dempsey, who had battled dementia died of complications from the Coronavirus.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 5 2020, 22:23:51 UTC

Tom Dempsey, NFL kicker who set a record for the longest field goal, dies of coronavirus

By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN
Updated 3:52 PM ET, Sun April 5, 2020

(CNN)Tom Dempsey, a journeyman NFL kicker who despite missing the toes on his right foot set a field goal record that stood for more than four decades, has died of coronavirus, according to reports.

Thomas John Dempsey (January 12, 1947 – April 4, 2020) was an American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints (1969–1970), Philadelphia Eagles (1971–1974), Los Angeles Rams (1975–1976), Houston Oilers (1977) and Buffalo Bills (1978–1979). He attended high school at San Dieguito High School and played college football at Palomar College. Unlike the "soccer style" approach which was becoming more and more widely used during his career, Dempsey's kicking style was the standard (of the day) straight-toe style. He died on April 4 2020 from complications of coronavirus at the age of 73.

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