Filed under: SaintsFor their first two decades the New Orleans Saints were known for:
a. Archie Manning, the gallant quarterback on teams that lost almost every week.
b. Fans who wore bags over their faces because of the losing, and ...
c. Tom Dempsey.
This is the week we celebrate Dempsey, whose 63-yard field goal, made 40 years ago on Nov. 8, 1970, stood alone as the NFL record for 28 years until Denver's Jason Elam, kicking at mile-high altitude, tied it in 1998.
The kick came at Tulane Stadium, the Saints' first home, and gave New Orleans one of two wins it had that season against a team that finished 10-4 and made the playoffs, losing a similarly bizarre game 5-0 to Dallas, which made it to the Super Bowl that season.
"If you're going to set a record, there's only one town in America to set it: right here in New Orleans,'' says the 63-year-old Dempsey, who was born in California, moved around the country during his career, but settled back in New Orleans, where he rebuilt his house four feet higher after it was flooded by Hurricane Katrina.
"I was in the locker room and they wouldn't let me leave because there were so many people there.''
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