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Thomas Dempsey (born January 12, 1947 in Milwaukee) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League 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.

He is most widely known for his NFL record 63-yard field goal, kicked in the final two seconds to give the New Orleans Saints a 19–17 win over the Detroit Lions on November 8, 1970[1]. This record still stands as of the end of the 2009 regular season. (In a 2002 pre-season game, Ola Kimrin kicked a 65 yard field goal; as a pre-season game, it is ineligible for the record.) The record has also been officially equaled once, by Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos on October 25, 1998 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Dempsey used a straight approach to kick the ball as opposed to the "soccer style" used by nearly all place kickers today.

Prior to 1974 in the NFL, the goal posts were on the goal lines instead of the end lines. With time running out in the game, the Saints attempted a place kick 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 otherwise-forgettable season. Dempsey's kick shattered the seventeen-year old mark of 56 yards set by Colts' kicker Bert Rechichar.[1]

“ The hurricane flooded me out of a lot of memorabilia, but it can't flood out the memories ”
—Dempsey on the effects of Hurricane Katrina

Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot. He wore a modified shoe with a flattened and enlarged toe surface. This generated controversy about whether such a shoe gave a player an unfair advantage.[2] In 1977, the NFL added a rule, informally known as the "Tom Dempsey Rule," that "any shoe that is worn by a player with an artificial limb on his kicking leg must have a kicking surface that conforms to that of a normal kicking shoe."[3][4]

Dempsey has since retired from football and currently resides with his wife Carlene, who teaches history at Kehoe-France, a private school in Metairie, Louisiana. His house was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[5]

--------------------Another source-------NFL Field Goal Record

NFL Field Goal RecordThe Longest Field Goal in NFL History. Evolution of the Record ... Glenn Presnell of the Detroit Lions place kicked a 54 yard field goal against the Green ...

4. On November 8, 1970, Tom Dempsey of New Orleans Saints kicked an NFL record 63 yard field goal against the Detroit Lions at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans (video). Dempsey kicked four field goals that day against the Lions, the final and record breaker with two seconds left gave the Saints a come-from-behind-victory of 19-17. Dempsey was born with half a right foot and with no right hand. He was fitted with an artificial foot in childhood, and it is with that wooden foot, encased in a modified football shoe, that he kicked field goals and extra points.

According to Dempsey, "When I lined up to kick my record-setting 63 yard field goal in 1970, we had the ball in the closed-in area of Tulane Stadium. The winds in that stadium sometimes would swirl and push balls wide to the left or wide to the right. The stadium was shaped like a big horseshoe, open at one end of the stadium and closed at the other. When it got windy, it was difficult to judge what was going to happen to the ball once it was kicked. But I got a good snap and a good hold, and I knew I had hit it well enough to go the distance. Considering that stadium, though, the question of whether the ball would stay straight was in the back of my mind. My snapper was Jackie Burkett and my holder was Joe Scarpati. It's important to have a good holder. Everything was perfect for me that day: I got a perfect snap, I got a perfect hold, and I got a lot of protection. No one ever accomplishes anything alone in football. We all like to think that we can, but that's just not true. It's always been a team game, always will be. So everything went well, and everyone else did their job. The last thing was for me to try to do mine. I thought I kicked it pretty well- I thought it had a chance. I was hoping the winds wouldn't swirl and drive the ball off-course. It seemed like it took forever to get there. I just kept watching it, wondering if it had enough distance. Finally, the referees raised their hands that it was good."

Dempsey's record has still not fallen.
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