The Longest Field Goal in NFL History

Evolution of the Record

One of professional football's greatest records rarely changes.  It is the record for the longest field goal.  While rushing, passing and receiving records have fallen frequently over the last 50 years, this is not the case for the ultimate kicking achievement.  In fact, in the history of the NFL since 1921, the field goal distance record has only been broken 4 times.  The record itself was established rather ambiguously in the early days of the league's existence.  Here are the five critical events in the development of the current record.

1. In the 1920's, three men claimed the longest kick in the game's history.  First, it must be remembered that in the early days of the game, drop kicking was often the preferred method for attempting field goals, especially long distance attempts.  The image above is taken from the Belfast (IRE) Harlequins Rugby homepage and explains drop kicking.  The drop kick disappeared from the football scene as the game evolved into a passing game and the footballs became pointed instead of rounded.

The great Jim Thorpe of the Canton Bulldogs, Paddy Driscoll of the Chicago Cardinals and Wilbur "Pete Henry of Canton were all great kickers of their era and are all now in the Hall of Fame. Thorpe's fans asserted that he routinely drop-kicked the ball from 50 yards out.  Paddy Driscoll supposedly kicked two of 50 or more on September 28, 1924 against Milwaukee.  Sadly, Thorpe's and Driscoll's records cannot be verified as stat keeping was imprecise at that time and the newspapers of the day conflicted in their reporting of the distances. 

The only verifiable distance belongs to Wilbur "Pete" Henry who kicked a 45 yard drop kick field goal against Toledo on December 10, 1922.  The record for field goal distance starts with Wilbur Henry.  Henry's record stood for 12 years.

2. Glenn Presnell of the Detroit Lions place kicked a 54 yard field goal against the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 7, 1934, winning the game 3-0. Presnell described the weather in Green Bay that day as beautiful and calm.  According to Presnell, "I remember John Schneller, an end, said why don't you try a field goal; it's as good as a punt.  We were going to have to punt anyway. Ace held (Ace Gutowski was the holder) and it hung up, hung up and dropped over the bar 54 yards away.  That turned out to be the margin of the game, 3 - 0." The kick stood as an NFL record for 19 years.　

The Lions Line Up To Demonstrate Presnell's Kick

3. Bert Rechichar helped the Baltimore Colts start the 1953 NFL season with a 13-9 upset of the Chicago Bears on September 27, 1953 before 23,715.  Rechichar had an amazing day against Chicago accounting for all the Colts' points. Playing as a defensive back, he intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Then, as time was winding down in the first half, Rechichar, who kicked only 31 field goals in 89 attempts during his ten-year career, kicked a 56 yard field goal, still the third longest kick ever against the Bears. It broke the NFL mark of Glenn Presnell by two yards.  His record would stand for 17 years until 1970.

4. On November 8, 1970, Tom Dempsey of New Orleans Saints kicked an NFL record 63 yard field goal against the Detroit Lions at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans (video). Dempsey kicked four field goals that day against the Lions, the final and record breaker with two seconds left gave the Saints a come-from-behind-victory of 19-17. Dempsey was born without a right foot and with no right hand. He was fitted with an artificial foot in childhood, and it is with that wooden foot, encased in a modified football shoe, that he kicked field goals and extra points.

According to Dempsey, "When I lined up to kick my record-setting 63 yard field goal in 1970, we had the ball in the closed-in area of Tulane Stadium. The winds in that stadium sometimes would swirl and push balls wide to the left or wide to the right. The stadium was shaped like a big horseshoe, open at one end of the stadium and closed at the other. When it got windy, it was difficult to judge what was going to happen to the ball once it was kicked. But I got a good snap and a good hold, and I knew I had hit it well enough to go the distance. Considering that stadium, though, the question of whether the ball would stay straight was in the back of my mind.  My snapper was Jackie Burkett and my holder was Joe Scarpati. It's important to have a good holder.  Everything was perfect for me that day: I got a perfect snap, I got a perfect hold, and I got a lot of protection. No one ever accomplishes anything alone in football. We all like to think that we can, but that's just not true. It's always been a team game, always will be. So everything went well, and everyone else did their job. The last thing was for me to try to do mine.  I thought I kicked it pretty well--I thought it had a chance. I was hoping the winds wouldn't swirl and drive the ball off-course. It seemed like it took forever to get there. I just kept watching it, wondering if it had enough distance. Finally, the referees raised their hands that it was good."

Dempsey's record has still not fallen.

5. Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos tied the 28-year-old NFL record of Tom Dempsey on Oct. 25, 1998 with a 63 yard field goal. The kick came at the end of the first half of a game with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver's Mile High Stadium.  With a 37-24 victory, the Broncos became 7-0 for the first time in club history. Originally only a 58-yard attempt, the Broncos were issued a 5 yard penalty for delaying the game and the ball was placed on the Jaguars 47 yard line with only a few seconds on the clock. Elam's kick delighted the Denver fans that were present to witness the history making effort.

When asked why he didn't back up a yard and go for the record-breaker at 64 yards, Elam said, "Well, that gets kind of scary when you do that.  Everything is so precise with the snapper and holder. My snapper (David Diaz-Infante) is usually so good that he can snap to where (holder) Tom (Rouen) doesn't even have to move the laces at all. I never like to mess with that."

Elam said he knew his record kick would have the distance. It was just a matter of physics.  "I just tried to do all the fundamentals correctly and keep the ball going straight because I really did feel I could get the ball there," he said. "But those goal posts looked really skinny from where I was standing." Elam said he is just happy to tie Dempsey, who kicked with a shoe specially fitted to his clubbed foot.   "I am perfectly happy with being in his company," said Elam.

On average, this record is eclipsed or equaled about every 16 1/2 years.  To equal or best this record is a tremendous accomplishment.  And, unlike other records, this one definitely has a ceiling or limit to what is actually attainable.  Given the history of this record, it is safe to say that we can expect to see it bested again in about the year 2014.

Source Information; Early Years: Professional Football Researchers Association, Presnell: Presnell Website, Dempsey: Football Digest,  July-August, 2003  by Chuck O'Donnell, Rechichar: nfluk.com, ravensnest.com, Elam- Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

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