But first, let’s give credit where credit is due: the NFL field goal record has been held for 43 years by Tom Dempsey, a kicker for the New Orleans Saints.  Dempsey is best known for his NFL record 63-yard field goal (kicked in the final two seconds) to give the Saints a 19–17 win over the Detroit Lions on November 8, 1970.

A great quote from Wikipedia:

“Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot and no fingers on his right hand. 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. When reporters would ask him if he thought it was unfair, he said “Unfair eh? How ’bout you try kickin’ a 63 yard field goal to win it with 2 seconds left an’ yer wearin’ a square shoe, oh, yeah and no toes either.”

You read that correctly.  Tom Dempsey’s shoe looked like this:

Then, this past Sunday the 8th, Matt Prater, kicker with the Denver Broncos, set the new NFL field goal record with a smash of 64 yards, as illustrated below:

Records were meant to be broken, but Tom Dempsey’s record stood the time test of 43 years — an amazing “feet” if you will.

BZ