Tom Dempsey
| No. 19, 10, 23, 6 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Placekicker | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Date of birth: | January 12, 1947 | ||||||
| Place of birth: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Encinitas (CA) San Dieguito | ||||||
| College: | Palomar | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||
| PAT: | 252/282 (89.4%) |
|---|---|
| FG: | 159/258 (61.6%) |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Thomas John Dempsey (born January 12, 1947) is a former 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.
Dempsey is most widely known for kicking a 63-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints a 19–17 win over the Detroit Lions on November 8, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. Prior to 1974 the goal posts in the NFL were on the goal lines instead of the end lines, and a missed field goal was treated the same as a punt: if it missed, it was a touchback unless it landed in the field of play and was returned. With time running out in the game, the Saints attempted a field goal with holder Joe Scarpati spotting at the Saints' own 37-yard line. The snap from Jackie Burkett was good, and Dempsey nailed the field goal with a couple of feet to spare. The win was one of only two for the Saints in that dismal season. For many years, it was believed that Saints quarterback Billy Kilmer was the holder of that historic kick, but photos of that day, as well as radio and television calls, revealed that it was actually Scarpati that was the holder.
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