Author:
valmas (stoic)
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Date Posted: 21:40:48 10/02/25 Thu
Tom Dempsey experienced a number of significant life challenges, both physical and medical, as well as a major personal hardship - from birth and throughout his career and life thereafter. He was born with a physical disability, specifically no toes on his right foot (his kicking foot) and no fingers on his right hand.
He knew personal hardship, too (Natural Disaster): His home in Metairie, Louisiana, was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which resulted in the loss of much of his memorabilia.
Medical Issues (Dementia): In his later years, he was diagnosed with dementia (and later Alzheimer's disease), with the initial diagnosis occurring around 2010/2012. He lived in an assisted living center for several years.
Death from Illness: He tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020 and passed away on April 4, 2020, due to complications from the virus and his ongoing health issues.
I never had the pleasure of meeting Tom. Don't know that he was ever able to perfect the requisite physical mechanics to kick a football accurately and distantly; however, given his obvious capacity for rolling with life's punches, I'll bet he mastered the psychological portions contributing to kicking reliability; and perhaps our modern day kickers are better directed at following in examples like his
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