Normally, it takes two miracles to qualify as a saint, per the Associated Press. But New Orleans Saint Tom Dempsey was canonized in the annals of football for a single miracle that put his team two points ahead of the Detroit Lions in 1970. As ESPN recounts, the Lions had entered the Saints’ den and roared to a 17-16 lead, thanks to an 18-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the game. Only two seconds remained when Dempsey heard a coach say, “Tell Stumpy to get ready.”

Dempsey had been born without fingers on his right hand and with no toes on his right foot. When he used that foot to score a dramatic win over Detroit, he had no idea what he achieved. And that’s probably for the best. Dempsey said, “If I’d known it was 63 yards, I might have messed it up.” His historic 63-yarder went unsurpassed for more than four decades.

Dempsey didn’t spend his post-NFL days basking in the glow of that kick. In fact, as noted by the Philadelphia Eagles website, Dempsey didn’t even like being called a kicker. He referred to himself as “a football player that kicks.” He could also hit. Standing at over 6 feet tall and tipping the scales at over 200 — sometimes close to 300 — pounds, he was a heavy hitter in every sense. During his stint in Philly he recorded 6 unassisted tackles in 1974. Sadly, all those hits took a heavy toll.

Dempsey remained resilient til the end

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