Tom Dempsey was born in January 1947 with no toes or fingers on his right foot and hand. But that didn’t stop him in life, as he went on to be a right-footed placekicker in the NFL for 10 years from 1969-1979. Playing for the Saints, Eagles, Rams, Oilers, and Bills, Tom Dempsey was a trailblazing kicker for his time.
Tom Dempsey And The Record:
Tom Dempsey made his debut on September 21st, 1969, for the New Orleans Saints vs. the Washington Redskins. In a losing effort, Dempsey made two of his three field goal attempts and both extra points. Dempsey finished his rookie year with 41 field goal attempts, leading the league and holding the longest field goal made on the season at 55 yards.
The following year, Tom Dempsey joined immortality. On November 8th, 1970, Dempsey became the record holder for the longest field goal in NFL history with a 63-yard game-winning field goal vs. the Detroit Lions as time expired for a 19-17 win. In the same game, Dempsey nailed four of five field goals and one extra point. The 63-yard field goal broke the previous record of 56 yards held by Bert Rechichar. Tom Dempsey broke the record after 17 years.
From 1970 to 2013, only three kickers came close to breaking the record of 63 yards. Jason Elam for the Denver Broncos tied the record on October 25th, 1998, vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. Sebastion Janikowski tied it in week one of the 2011 season. In a game vs. the Denver Broncos, Janikowski made a 63-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. The final person to tie the record was David Akers in 2012 for the San Francisco 49ers. In week one of the 2012 season, Akers nailed a 63-yard kick as time expired in the 1st half vs. the Green Bay Packers.
Record Falls:
The record stood for 43 years until Matt Prater kicked a 64-yard field goal. On December 8th, 2013, Matt Prater played the Tennessee Titans as a member of the Denver Broncos. As time expired in the first half, Prater drilled the 64-yard kick to bring the Broncos to within 1 point at halftime.
Eight years later and another all-time great kicker decided to try his hand at the record. As time expired on September 26th, 2021, Justin Tucker kicked and made a 66-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Detroit Lions by the final score of 19-17.
Tom Dempsey’s Legacy:
After making the famous 63-yard field goal in 1970, the NFL decided that rule changes were necessary to discourage long field goals from being taken. In 1974, the NFL moved the goalposts from the front of the endzone to the back of the endzone. In doing so, the rule change added 10 yards to every field goal kick.
The NFL also implemented a rule that stated if a kick were missed, the defense would take over possession from where the ball was snapped. The rule was later changed in 1994 to where the ball was kicked from.
In 1977, the NFL implemented another rule, and this time called it the Tom Dempsey Rule. The rule states, “any shoe worn by players with an artificial limb on kicking leg must have a kicking surface that conforms to that of a normal kicking shoe.” This rule was because Dempsey wore a boot that was flat on the toe surface and shaped like a box. Many questioned whether or not it gave him an advantage over other kickers during his time. ESPN Sports science disproved this theory and said the shoe made it more difficult for Dempsey to kick as it increased the margin of error.
Career Stats:
Tom Dempsey was a great kicker for someone with no toes wearing a box shoe. Dempsey made 61.6% of his kicks and led the league in conversion rate in 1971 with 70.6%. Dempsey made at least one field goal from 50+ yards in six of his 10 seasons in the NFL. Tom Dempsey was given a terrible hand dealt in life and made the most of it. Unfortunately, Dempsey passed away in 2020 from complications of Covid-19, but his legacy lives on as we watch the NFL today.
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