You’ve probably seen the grainy, yellowish footage. A big guy in a New Orleans Saints jersey—number 19—lumbering toward the ball. He doesn’t look like a modern kicker. He looks like a linebacker who got lost on his way to a blitz. He swings his leg like a sledgehammer, and the ball doesn't just fly; it bores through the air.
That was Tom Dempsey.
On November 8, 1970, he did something that basically broke the brains of every football fan in America. He kicked a 63-yard field goal. At the time, that was like someone landing a spaceship in the middle of Tulane Stadium. The previous record was 56 yards, set by Bert Rechichar seventeen years earlier. Dempsey didn't just break the record; he obliterated it by seven yards.
But honestly, the distance isn't even the wildest part of the story.
The Man Behind the Shoe
Tom Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot and without fingers on his right hand.
In the late 1940s, a kid with those kinds of physical challenges wasn't exactly expected to become a professional athlete. But Dempsey didn't care about expectations. He grew up in California, played defensive line in high school, and eventually found his way to a "taxi squad" for the San Diego Chargers.
By 1969, he was the kicker for the New Orleans Saints.
He wore a custom-made shoe. It was a $200 piece of leather with a flat, squared-off front. Because he had no toes, he couldn't use the "soccer-style" kick that was just starting to take over the NFL. He was a straight-on kicker. He hit the ball with the flat surface of that blocky shoe, sending it on a low, screaming trajectory.
People called it a "club" foot. They weren't always being kind.
The 1970 season was a disaster for the Saints. They entered that November game against the Detroit Lions with a 1-6 record. With two seconds left on the clock, the Saints were down 17-16. They were on their own 37-yard line. Most coaches would have called for a Hail Mary.
Saints coach J.D. Roberts looked at Dempsey and said, "Go kick it."
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The Kick That Changed the Rulebook
The snap was good. The hold by Joe Scarpati was perfect.
Dempsey’s kick barely cleared the crossbar. It actually looked like it might fall short, but it had just enough "oomph" to tumble over. The stadium went absolutely nuclear. The Saints won 19-17, and Tom Dempsey became an overnight legend.
Of course, because it's the NFL, people started complaining immediately.
Critics, led mostly by Cowboys president Tex Schramm, argued that Dempsey had an unfair advantage. They claimed the flat surface of his shoe acted like a hitting surface that regular shoes didn't have. They basically said he was "cheating" by being born with a disability.
It took a few years, but in 1977, the league added what is now known as the "Tom Dempsey Rule." It states that any shoe worn by a player with an artificial limb or a deformity must have a kicking surface that conforms to that of a normal kicking shoe.
Dempsey was grandfathered in, so he got to keep wearing his boot until he retired in 1979.
Interestingly, science eventually weighed in. Years later, an ESPN Sports Science segment analyzed the kick. They found that because the contact area on Dempsey's shoe was actually smaller than a standard shoe's "sweet spot," his margin for error was actually thinner. He had to be more precise, not less.
A Career Beyond the Record
Most people think of Tom Dempsey as a one-hit wonder. That’s just wrong.
He played 11 seasons in the NFL. He didn't just hang around; he was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 1969. He played for the Eagles, the Rams, the Oilers, and the Bills. In 1972, while with Philadelphia, he kicked six field goals in a single game against the Oilers—a team record that stood for decades.
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Dempsey was a "football player" in the old-school sense. He was 6'2" and weighed about 255 pounds. He used to say he liked covering kickoffs because it gave him a chance to actually hit somebody. He didn't want to be protected.
The 63-yard record stood for 43 years.
Think about that. In an era of specialized long-snappers, indoor stadiums, and K-balls, Dempsey's mark held firm. It was finally tied by Jason Elam in 1998, then by Sebastian Janikowski in 2011 and David Akers in 2012. It wasn't officially surpassed until Matt Prater hit a 64-yarder in the thin air of Denver in 2013.
Today, Justin Tucker holds the record at 66 yards. But Tucker did it in a world of high-tech training and perfect conditions. Dempsey did it with half a foot on a grass field that was probably closer to a swamp than a carpet.
Why Tom Dempsey Matters in 2026
We lost Tom in April 2020. He was 73. He had been battling Alzheimer's and dementia for years, and he finally passed away due to complications from COVID-19.
But his legacy isn't just about a number on a stat sheet.
Dempsey represents the "no excuses" era of sports. He didn't ask for a special category. He didn't ask for the goalposts to be moved. He just took the body he was born with and found a way to make it the most powerful weapon in the league for a single, magical afternoon.
If you're looking for actionable takeaways from the life of a 1970s kicker, it's pretty simple:
- Focus on the "Sweet Spot": Like Dempsey’s shoe, your unique path might have a smaller margin for error, but that just means you have to be more disciplined in your execution.
- Ignore the "Tex Schramms": There will always be people who try to legislate away your success by calling it an "unfair advantage" or a fluke. Let them talk while you're busy winning.
- Adapt the Equipment to the Goal: He didn't try to fit into a standard shoe. He built what he needed to do the job.
Tom Dempsey’s 63-yarder remains the most iconic field goal in the history of the sport. Not because of the distance, but because of the man who swung the leg.
To truly understand the impact of Dempsey's career, one should look into the history of the "straight-on" kicking style versus the "soccer-style" revolution of the 1970s. You can also visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, where his famous squared-off shoe is still on display—a permanent reminder that "perfection" is overrated when you have enough heart.