Tom Dempsey obit

Tom Dempsey, historic New Orleans Saints placekicker, dies at 73 after coronavirus battle

He was not on the list.

Tom Dempsey, whose 63-yard-field goal in 1970 set the NFL record and gave New Orleans Saints fans a rare raucous moment in the franchise's lean early years, died late Saturday of complications from the novel coronavirus, his family said. He was 73.

Dempsey — who overcame astronomical odds to establish what was then considered a virtually unbeatable record — contracted the virus in March during an outbreak at the Lambeth House retirement home in Uptown New Orleans. He is one of at least 15 residents there to die after being stricken with the disease.

Before long-distance place-kicking became a staple of the sport, Dempsey's thunderous boot not only beat the Detroit Lions 19-17 on the last play of the game at Tulane Stadium on Nov. 8, 1970, but also stood as the NFL record for more than four decades. It beat the previous record by a full 7 yards.

The Denver Broncos' Matt Prater bested Dempsey with a 64-yarder in 2013, 43 years after Dempsey unleashed his cannon-shot opposite Lions' defenders who had been laughing at what they believed to be an impossible attempt.

Before Prater's kick, three others had also hit 63-yarders over the years.

Prater's kick came in the thin air of Denver, 5,000-feet above sea level, as had those by two of the players who tied Dempsey's mark. Dempsey's record was tied by Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos in 1998, Sebastian Janikowski of the Oakland Raiders in 2011, and David Akers of the San Francisco 49ers in 2012.

When his daughter Ashley told Dempsey that his record had finally been eclipsed, he quipped, “Must have been a heckuva kick.”

Nicknamed “Stumpy’’ by teammates, Dempsey seemed an unlikely football hero. He was born without fingers on his right hand or toes on his right foot. He wore a small, flat shoe on his kicking foot that is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

As a rookie in 1969, Dempsey delivered an All-Pro season but was cut by the Saints in 1971 after missing seven of eight kicks during preseason, which he attributed to falling out of shape while being treated to countless drinks and meals after his historic kick. But he rebounded and played for several other teams — the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams,  Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills — before retiring following the 1979 season.

Dempsey's right hand and right foot never deterred him from athletics growing up in Encinitas, California. He was a defensive lineman and kicker for San Dieguito High School, then briefly at Palomar College, where a clash with a coach cut his tenure short. Dempsey continued plying his trade by playing semi-pro ball in Massachusetts and caught on with the Saints after a couple of failed NFL tryouts.

His 63-yarder was one of the few highlights of the Saints' two-win season that year.

The broadcast of the play, along with the play call from CBS commentator Don Criqui, still makes Saints fans misty-eyed.

“I don’t believe this,” Criqui said as the ball sailed nearly two-thirds of the field, then added as the ball cleared the bar by a yard, "It's GOOD! I don't believe it!"

The miraculous moment so moved powerful Louisiana Congressman F. Edward Hebert that he had an account of “The Kick” by Dempsey inserted into the Congressional Record.

After retiring, Dempsey returned to New Orleans with his wife, Carlene. He helped her raise a family and — over the years — worked as an oilfield salesman, coached football at Archbishop Rummel High School and managed a car dealership for the late Tom Benson, who bought the Saints in 1985.

In 2012, Dempsey publicly disclosed that he had been diagnosed with dementia and detailed the treatment he was receiving. He spent the final years of his life at Lambeth House.

Dempsey was diagnosed with COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease, on March 25, Ashley Dempsey said.

She said her father's fight against the virus started promisingly, but his condition gradually worsened.

Doubling his family's pain is that they could not be with him during his final days because Lambeth House residents were quarantined. However, they spoke to him via video chat daily, Ashley Dempsey said.

"We didn't want him to think we had abandoned him," she said. "We wanted him to know we still loved him — always."

In a statement, Saints owner Gayle Benson expressed condolences to Dempsey's family and said, "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."

In addition to his wife, Carlene, and daughter Ashley, Dempsey is survived by children Toby Dempsey (Pamela) and Meghan Dempsey Crosby (Lee), as well as his sister, Janice Dempsey.

He also had three grandchildren: Dylan Dempsey, Logan Dempsey and Quinn Dempsey. Ashley Dempsey said her father always told his family they were his proudest accomplishment — not anything on the gridiron.

Dempsey's family is planning a small funeral for its patriarch due to crowd-size restrictions that officials have implemented indefinitely in an attempt to slow the COVID-19 pandemic. When those are lifted, Ashley Dempsey said, the family will arrange a larger memorial.  

Some of his coaches, teammates, club owners and managers include: Tom Fears, John W. Mecom, Jr., Vic Schwenk, Andy Livingston, Tony Baker, Jake Kupp, Billy Kilmer, Dave Parks, Jerry Sturm, Danny Abramowicz, Jake Kupp, Doug Atkins, Bill Saul, J. D. Roberts,  Ken Burrough, Jim Otis, Elijah Pitts, Harry Jacobs, Mike Tilleman, Leonard Tose, Jerry Williams, Ed Khayat, Harold Carmichael, Harold Jackson, Ronnie Bull, Wade Key, Tim Rossovich, Tom Woodeshick, Bill Bradley,  Ed Khayat, Pete Retzlaff, Gary Ballman, Houston Antwine, Chuck Allen, Tom Sullivan, Roman Gabriel, Charle Young, Mike McCormack, Jerry Sisemore, Randy Logan, Joe Lavender, Gerry Philbin, Marlin McKeever, Kermit Alexander, Bill Bergey, Jim Murray, Frank LeMaster, Mike Boryla, Frank LeMaster, Chuck Knox, Carroll Rosenbloom, Dennis Harrah, Doug France, Monte Jackson, Ron Jaworski, James Harris, Lawrence McCutcheon, John Cappelletti, Jack Youngblood, Merlin Olsen, Rich Saul, Fred Dryer, Tom Mack, Isiah Robertson, Jim Youngblood, Larry Brooks, Joe Scibelli, Dave Elmendorf, John Williams, Mike Fanning, Bob DeMarco, Charley Cowan, Cody Jones, Jack Reynolds, Bob Klein, Jack Snow, Jim Bertelsen, Doug France, Pat Haden, Ron Jessie, Jackie Slater, Monte Jackson, Rod Perry, Bill Simpson, Pat Thomas, Bud Adams, Bum Phillips, John Hadl, Dan Pastorini, Rob Carpenter, Robert Brazile, Ralph Wilson, Joe Ferguson, Terry Miller, Frank Lewis, Bill Munson, Joe DeLamielleure, Reggie McKenzie, Ben Williams, Bob Chandler, Jim Haslett, Jerry Butler, Fred Smerlas, Tom Cousineau, Nick Mike-Mayer and Tim Vogler.