63 at 36: Dempsey still gets a kick

GIVEN HOW elaborate the science of kicking has become, it is altogether improbable that his record still stands 36 years later. You would have supposed that someone would have come along since that day in November 1970 and booted a field goal longer than 63 yards. Even Tom Dempsey himself is surprised the record has hung in there and has become such an enduring piece of National Football League lore. NFL Films president Steve Sabol, the always-astute curator of league history, says the legendary Dempsey kick falls somewhere between the "The Immaculate Reception" by the Steelers' Franco Harris in 1972 and "The Wrong Way Run" by the Vikings' Jim Marshall in 1964.

"It is still one of the real iconic shots in our library," says Sabol. "You still see it every year."

Fans in New Orleans still bring it up with some regularity to Dempsey, who lives in adjacent Metairie and works in sales for Konica Minolta. A veteran of 10 NFL seasons that included four with the Eagles (1971 to '74), Dempsey looks back today on his 60th birthday with a degree of humility in the wake of the adversity he has overcome. Forty-odd years ago, he was a young athlete who prevailed over the obstacle of being born with a deformed foot and hand. A year-and-a-half ago, he was an ordinary citizen whose property was washed away in the devastating Katrina floodwaters. Today, the healing continues on the coattails of the Saints, who play the Eagles tomorrow night at the Louisiana Superdome. Says Dempsey: "For the people down here, the Saints have been everything. They truly have."

But that was far from the case in 1970. The Saints were just 3 years removed from being an expansion team and were 1-5-1 when coach Tom Fears was replaced by J.D. Roberts the week before the Lions game on Nov. 8. "What I remember is that it had been a very upsetting week," says Joe Scarpati, the former Eagle who served as the holder for Dempsey. "The Lions were still in the running, but we were just finishing out the season." But it was an evenly played game. With the Lions up, 17-16, and only 2 seconds remaining, Dempsey was summoned to attempt the winning field goal. He says he did not know exactly how long it was and adds with a chuckle: "I probably would have choked if I did."

But the Saints were seldom out of field-goal range with Dempsey on hand, even if they were frequently out of games. He used to boom them 70 yards or more in practice, and he did it with a specially designed shoe: He had no toes on his right foot. He remembers that former San Diego coach Sid Gillman sent him to an orthopedic specialist, who took a cast of his foot and built a "tight fitting" boot with it. "I remember I wanted it to be light," says Dempsey. "They would work on it and I would go down there and try it. They had a park across the street where I used to kick into palm trees. And I would say, 'Make it lighter.' Finally, they agreed that lighter was better." The shoe had a squared-off front, which caused the ball to fly off it with a concussive sound. Says NFL Films producer Ray Didinger, who covered Dempsey while he was with the Eagles: "It sort of looked like the head of a sledgehammer, and it definitely sounded different when he hit the ball."

Conditions were not especially conducive to a record-setting field goal that day at Tulane Stadium. "New Orleans is always humid, and I remember it was a cool day," Dempsey says. "And there was only a breeze in the air." He remembers as they sized up the distance to the goal post - which appeared to be in another time zone - Scarpati recommended that they bring the ball back from the line of scrimmage 8 yards instead of 7, to the New Orleans 37. "When you are that far back, your trajectory over the line of scrimmage is not as high as it would be if you were closer," says Scarpati. "A defensive player could stick his hand up and block it if he focused on it." But Scarpati says the Lions were "haphazard" in bringing any pressure. The old NFL Films clip shows exactly that.

Center Jackie Burkett snaps it.

Scarpati tees it up.

And Dempsey swipes at it with that unusual shoe: The ball soars in a long, end-over-end arc that slips just over the crossbar by a few feet to eclipse the record by a full 7 yards. As the New Orleans players mob Dempsey, the announcer shouts with glee: "Dempsey with a 63-yard field goal! The longest in the history of the National [Football] League!"

"I knew I hit it really good," says Dempsey. "But you just wonder: Did you hit it good enough? I can tell you we had a hell of a party that night. If you are going to set a record, New Orleans is the place to do it."

Controversy erupted in the week following the kick. Cowboys president and general manager Tex Schramm immediately called for an investigation into the shoe, which he said gave Dempsey an unfair advantage. But Tex had few followers in his cause. Dempsey says it was funny. "People were going around saying I had steel in my shoe," he says with a chuckle. "But as I always said, 'Whenever I missed, no one ever said I had a disadvantage.' He pauses and adds, "Of course, I guess if being born without any toes is an advantage, then I had an advantage."

Conflict with Roberts spelled the end of New Orleans for Dempsey, who came to Philadelphia the following year. He loved it here. He set the record for the longest field goal in club history in 1971 with a 52-yarder against the Lions, and then eclipsed it a week later with a 54-yarder against the Cardinals. That still stands as the third-longest field goal by an Eagle behind Tony Franklin (59 yards in 1979) and David Akers (57 yards in 2003). He also had six field goals in an 18-17 victory at Houston in 1972. While he found kicking in the swirling winds at Veterans Stadium to be a challenge, he was saddened when the Eagles shipped him to the Rams in the wake of the 1974 strike. He had been a player representative and says now: "That had everything to do [with being traded]."

"I enjoyed the years I had in Philadelphia," says Dempsey. "The fans appreciated you if you worked hard. I was up there not long ago for a card-signing and I stopped off at Pat's Steaks."

Was it was how he remembered?

"Better," says Dempsey. "I only wish I could have finished my career up there."

Stops with the Rams (1975-76), Oilers (1977) and Bills (1978-79) closed out his career. With his wife and three children, he settled down in the New Orleans area, where he sold cars before joining Konica Minolta. Some old football pieces he had were destroyed with his house in Hurricane Katrina, but as he says now, "That was just stuff." He evacuated to Shreveport the day before landfall. "The bottom of our house was flooded with 3 feet of water," he says. "When we finally got back, the whole thing was covered with mold."

Dempsey has since replaced his house, which he says is a blessing. "People are hurting down here," he says. "I was fortunate enough to have the ability to buy something else, but not everyone has been so lucky down here. Parts of this city are so damaged that . . . "

He pauses to search for the words and continues: "So destroyed that you have to see it for yourself. No one can tell you about it and adequately describe it. And it will be years before New Orleans comes back. I only hope that the politicians stop playing politics with our misery. We would be one hell of a lot better off."

But whatever has happened in New Orleans, Dempsey still has his health - and the record. The Broncos' Jason Elam tied it in 1998 in the admittedly thin air at Mile High Stadium (which can add 5 to 10 yards to a kick). And this year Tampa Bay's Matt Bryant drove a 62-yarder through the uprights to beat the Eagles, 23-21, in the last second. Because of the rules governing missed field goals - which give the opposing team possession from where the ball was snapped - Akers says any attempt to eclipse the record would probably occur at the end of the half or in an act of desperation at the end of a game. Akers says he has kicked snap-hold practice kicks as long as 72 yards and that he has connected from the tee "in the 80s." Of Dempsey, he says: "Some records hold for a long time. He should be very proud of it."

He is.

And that pride just deepens with every year.

"Oh, yeah," he says. "The older you get, the nicer it is to be remembered." *