Talk:Tom Dempsey

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Isn't he missing a hand, too? A2Kafir 18:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)



A few sites I've seen while doing some research have said that Dempsey actually had a wooden prosthetic foot... true? here, here, also on the 1977 NFL Season page it refers to the "Tom Dempsey Rule" where a player who has an artificial limb has to have the same surface area as a normal shoe... Many other sources online say he had a "stump" but no artifical foot, this is the more common view. Anyone know which is correct?--12.207.159.63 00:23, 5 December 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Artificial limb?

As asked above, this article includes the "artificial limb" rule - is this relevant to Tom Dempsey? It is not indicated that he had an artificial limb, or that a person missing toes has this rule apply to them. TheHYPO 23:16, 2 December 2007 (UTC)


I have been looking into this. I have not found a description of the precise shape of Mr. Dempsey's natural foot. I am under the impression that it was more than a case of missing toes. Regardless, the modified shoe itself probably qualifies as an artificial limb for the purposes of this rule. Carboncopy 03:04, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] According to my best memory...

I went to San Dieguito High School, '63, and attended Palomar College with Tom Dempsey. To the best of my recollection the front portion of his foot was missing as was one hand. He had a sort of cleft stump instead of a hand. I used to see him doing bench presses in the weight room, wrapping a towel around the bar and supporting the bar with the cleft stub instead of a hand. He was a guard or a tackle in High School. I am not sure what position he played at Palomar College, or when he began his career as a kicker. I do remember being in a car pool with him and some of the other big jocks, and all of them piling into my old beater (a '50 DeSoto) for the trip to San Marcos from the coast to attend classes at Palomar. It was inspiring to see that he made the team at Palomar where the competition was stiffer than in high school, and whenever I'm having a difficult time I think back to those days when I saw Dempsey working out in the weight room and on the field. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.212.92.191 (talk) 03:10, 5 May 2008 (UTC)