He shouldn't have been there. Honestly, if you looked at his right leg, you’d assume he was heading for a desk job or maybe a coaching gig, not the starting roster of the New Orleans Saints. Tom Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot and without fingers on his right hand. In the late 1960s, that kind of physical difference usually meant you were sidelined before you even started. But Dempsey didn’t care about the optics. He became the football kicker with half a foot who fundamentally changed how the NFL looked at the kicking game, special teams, and the literal physics of a football.
November 8, 1970. Tulane Stadium. The Saints were trailing the Detroit Lions 17–16. There were two seconds left on the clock. The ball was spotted at the Saints’ own 37-yard line. Most people in the stands were already heading for the exits because, frankly, the math didn’t add up. A 63-yard field goal? It was unheard of. At that time, the record was 56 yards, set by Bert Rechichar in 1953. Seven yards might not sound like a lot, but in the world of kickers, it’s a lifetime.
Dempsey trotted out. He was wearing a custom-made shoe—a flat-fronted, leather block that looked more like a mallet than a cleat. He took his steps. He swung that leg. The sound wasn't the usual thwack of a toe meeting pigskin; it was a heavy, dull thud. The ball didn't just fly; it hung in the air like it was defying gravity, eventually clearing the crossbar by inches.
Why the Physics of a Football Kicker With Half a Foot Terrified the NFL
The league panicked. They didn't know what to do with a guy who could hit from the zip code over. After Dempsey’s record-shattering kick, a massive debate erupted. Was it the man, or was it the shoe?
Critics argued that Dempsey had an unfair advantage. They claimed his flat-fronted shoe created a "striking surface" that acted like a club. It’s kind of wild when you think about it—the league was essentially worried that a man with a significant physical disability had an "unfair" edge over able-bodied athletes. They eventually passed the "Tom Dempsey Rule" in 1977. It mandated that any shoe worn by a player with a prosthetic or a limb difference must have a kicking surface that conforms to the shape of a standard kicking shoe.
Basically, they tried to legislate away his unique anatomy.
But here is what most people get wrong about the football kicker with half a foot. The shoe wasn't a magic wand. If you gave that shoe to any other kicker in the league in 1970, they probably would have broken their ankle or shanked the ball into the Gatorade buckets. Dempsey was a massive human being—roughly 6'2" and 255 pounds. He was built like a defensive tackle. Most kickers back then were soccer-style guys or smaller straight-on kickers. Dempsey brought raw, unadulterated power. He used his entire body weight as a pendulum.
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The Engineering Behind the Famous Shoe
Let's talk about that shoe for a second. It was designed by a man named Ortho Schueneman. It cost about $200 at the time, which was a decent chunk of change.
- It featured a heavy leather surface.
- The front was completely flat.
- It lacked the "give" of a standard toe-kick cleat.
- It provided a consistent point of impact.
While the "club" argument made for good headlines, the reality was much more difficult. Because Dempsey had no toes, he had significantly less balance than his peers. Imagine trying to plant your left foot and swing your right with maximum force while your center of gravity is naturally shifted. He had to develop incredible core strength just to stay upright during the follow-through. He wasn't "cheating" the game; he was re-engineering his entire kinetic chain to compensate for what wasn't there.
The Long Road from Palos Verdes to New Orleans
Dempsey didn't just wake up and decide to kick 60-yarders. He grew up in Southern California and actually played defensive line in high school and college. He liked the hitting. He liked the grit. He only really started focusing on kicking because he realized it was his ticket to the pros.
He spent time in the minor leagues—yes, football had those—playing for the Lowell Giants in the Atlantic Coast Football League. He was grinding. He was making next to nothing. When the Saints finally gave him a shot in 1969, he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. People forget that. They only remember the 63-yarder, but he was a legitimate scoring threat from the moment he stepped on an NFL field.
Breaking Down the 63-Yard Kick Step-by-Step
It's easy to look at the grainy film and think it was luck. It wasn't.
- The Snap: It was clean. If the hold is off by a fraction of an inch, Dempsey hits the flat part of the shoe incorrectly and the ball goes nowhere.
- The Approach: Unlike modern "soccer-style" kickers who come in at an angle (think Justin Tucker), Dempsey moved in a straight line.
- The Impact: He struck the ball slightly below the midline. Because of the flat shoe, the energy transfer was incredibly efficient.
- The Trajectory: The ball had a lower-than-average launch angle, which is why it barely made it over the bar. If the wind had been blowing five miles per hour harder, we wouldn't be talking about him today.
Life After the Record
Dempsey played for several teams—the Eagles, the Rams, the Oilers, and the Bills. He was a journeyman, really. But he carried that "half a foot" label everywhere he went. He dealt with it with a lot of grace, honestly. He never saw himself as a "special" case; he just saw himself as a football player who happened to have a different way of hitting the ball.
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The record stood for 43 years. Think about that. In an era where players got faster, shoes got better, and fields turned into perfect turf, nobody could touch it. It wasn't until 2013 that Matt Prater finally hit a 64-yarder in the thin air of Denver. Then, of course, Justin Tucker pushed it to 66 in 2021.
But Prater and Tucker had ten toes.
The Tragic and Heroic Final Chapter
Later in life, Dempsey faced his toughest opponent. He struggled with dementia and eventually contracted COVID-19 in 2020. He passed away at the age of 73. His brain was donated to science to study the effects of CTE, which is a testament to the fact that he wasn't just a "specialist"—he was a guy who threw his body into the fray for years.
The legacy of the football kicker with half a foot isn't just a stat in a record book. It’s a middle finger to the idea of physical limitations. He took a body that the world said wasn't "built" for pro sports and used it to do something that took the rest of the world four decades to catch up to.
Real-World Takeaways from the Tom Dempsey Story
If you're looking for the "so what" in all of this, it's not just about football. It's about the mechanics of adaptation.
- Adaptation over Conformity: Dempsey didn't try to kick like everyone else. He leaned into his difference. If you have a unique "limitation," trying to solve it using standard methods usually fails. You have to build a system (like his shoe and his stance) that works for your specific variables.
- The Power of Weight and Mass: In sports, we often prioritize flexibility and "snap." Dempsey proved that raw mass and a rigid striking surface can overcome a lack of traditional technique.
- Resilience Against Bureaucracy: When you change the game, the powers that be will try to change the rules to stop you. The "Tom Dempsey Rule" is proof that he was a disruptor.
- Physics Wins: At the end of the day, distance is a product of force and contact time. By creating a flat surface, Dempsey increased the efficiency of that contact.
If you ever find yourself at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, look for the shoe. It’s sitting there in a glass case. It looks primitive. It looks weird. But it’s the physical manifestation of a man who refused to be told what he couldn't do.
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To truly understand the kicking game today, you have to look back at the guy who did it with half a foot and a whole lot of grit. He didn't just kick a ball; he kicked the door down for every specialist who followed.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re a coach or an athlete, stop trying to force every player into a specific mold. Look at the anatomical advantages or "disadvantages" your team has and build a technique around them.
For the fans, go watch the original footage of the 1970 kick. Pay attention to the crowd. Pay attention to the Detroit players who just stood there, stunned. It remains one of the most improbable moments in the history of American sports.
Check out the "Tom Dempsey Rule" in the official NFL Rulebook (Rule 5, Section 4, Article 3, Item 1) to see exactly how the league codified his foot into law. It’s a fascinating bit of legal-sporting history that rarely gets mentioned in modern broadcasts.
Finally, consider supporting the Danny Wuerffel Foundation or similar organizations that help athletes with physical differences find their place in competitive sports. Dempsey proved the potential is there—sometimes it just needs a custom shoe.