Former NFL kicker Tom Dempsey tests positive for COVID-19

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Tom Dempsey, who was born without toes on his right foot and fingers on his right hand but nonetheless became a record-setting NFL kicker, has tested positive for COVID-19.

The 73-year-old Dempsey, who is suffering from dementia, is one of several residents of a New Orleans senior living facility who have tested positive. His daughter says his symptoms have been relatively mild.

“His appetite has been good,” Ashley Dempsey told NOLA.com. “He’s doing OK.”

Dempsey signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1969 and is best remembered for his record-setting 63-yard field goal in 1969. The small flat shoe he kicked with is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Although Dempsey played for the Eagles, Rams, Oilers and Bills after leaving the Saints, he retired to New Orleans and has lived there since. The New Orleans area has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus.

“He’s a fighter,” Ashley Dempsey said of her father. “He’s been fighting his whole life.”

Dempsey’s family cannot visit him, as all nursing homes in Louisiana are under quarantine.