Tom Dempsey, the former record-holder for the longest field goal in NFL history, passed away yesterday from the effects of Covid-19. Dempsey, who suffered from dementia and was in an assisted living facility in New Orleans, was 73 years old. His game-winning 63-yard field goal for the Saints on November 8th, 1970 gave them a 19-17 win over the Lions and established a record that stood for 43 years, until Denver’s Matt Prater booted a 64-yarder in 2013.
Dempsey played for the Saints, Eagles, Rams, Oilers, and Bills over eleven NFL seasons, despite being born with no toes on his kicking foot.
NFL Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell died yesterday at the age of 84. Mitchell played four years as a running back in Cleveland and then joined the Washington Redskins, where he played seven seasons as a flanker. He was the first black player for Washington, which was the last NFL team to integrate its roster in 1962.
He was a three-time All-NFL selection and played in four Pro Bowls, and his 7,954 all-purpose yards were the second-most in NFL history when he retired in 1968.
Former Oilers coach Ed Biles has died at the age of 88 after battling leukemia. Biles took over as head coach when Bum Phillips was fired after the 1980 season. He went 7-9 in his first season, but the Oilers posted a 1-8 record in the strike-shortened 1982 season and opened 0-6 in 1983 before Biles resigned.
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