Tom Dempsey's Shoe
Toeless kicker launched 63-yard field goal in 1970
During a time when successful field goals in the National Football League averaged 30 yards, this iconic shoe was used to kick a 63-yard field goal by one of the most well-known field goal kickers of the 1970s.
Tom Dempsey (1947–2020) was born without toes on his right foot and without four fingers on his right hand. With the aid of a specially made right shoe, Dempsey became a field goal kicker in the National Football League. Dempsey’s shoe was a custom leather boot that featured a 1 ¾-inch leather block at the toe. The custom shoe cost Dempsey $200 in 1968. During the Detroit Lions-New Orleans Saints game on November 8, 1970, Tom Dempsey kicked a 63-yard field goal with this shoe, setting an NFL record. He beat the previous record by seven yards at a time when field goals over 50 yards were rare.
There was some controversy about the legality of Dempsey's custom shoe, and in 1977 the NFL added the "Tom Dempsey Rule," stating "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." Dempsey played 11 years in the NFL with five different teams, including the Houston Oilers in 1977, before retiring in 1979. Since then, other kickers have matched Dempsey's 63-yard record, and several have broken it with 64-, 65- and 66-yard kicks. Dempsey remains the only kicker to successfully kick a field goal from beyond his own team's 40-yard line.
Tom Dempsey's modified kicking shoe was part of the traveling exhibition Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Artifact Spotlight
September 2015
Lender
Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio
About
Sporting Equipment
Time Period: 1946 - 1970
Display Status
Exhibit: Gridiron Glory
This artifact is not on view.