At What Cost?

I was a college freshman on that Sunday in November of 1970 when Tom Dempsey kicked a game-winning, 63-yard field goal for the New Orleans Saints.  Dempsey set a record that stood for 43 years.

 

The kick came as time expired, turning a one-point lead for the Detroit Lions into a jaw-dropping two-point loss.  Detroit defensive tackle Alex Karras was on the field trying to block Dempsey’s kick, although the level of effort is debatable.  This is no knock on Karras or any of his teammates on the field at Tulane Stadium that Sunday.  Dempsey’s attempt was six yards longer than the record of 56 yards, set seventeen years earlier.  But stuff happens.

 

Karras was an interesting sort, deadpan funny and always willing to poke fun at himself.  He retired from football after the 1970 and embarked on a fairly successful career as a comic actor.  I think I saw him early on in his new career, talking about Dempsey to Johnny Carson.  Dempsey was born without toes on his right, kicking, foot, something Karras pointed out in cruder fashion than would be tolerated today.  I think Karras was going for the effect, saying this guy with that handicap daring to kick a football that far, against me.  Dempsey did, and Karras  conveyed a sense of disbelief as personal as it was endearing.

 

Dempsey died last week from the Coronavirus, at the age of 73; he had been struggling with dementia for several years.  Karras was 77 at the time of his death in 2012; he, too, suffered from dementia.  A career in football comes with certain costs, none of which will be mentioned much, if at all, during the upcoming NFL draft later this month.  It was a hell of a kick, though.