A couple of well-known NFL players passed away Sunday. The first set the NFL record for the longest field goal-that proved to be a game winner- in a game against the Detroit Lions while playing for the New Orleans Saints in 1970.
Tom Dempsey- born without toes on his right kicking foot passed away while struggling with complications from coronavirus at age 73. Dempsey’s daughter Ashley Dempsey said Sunday that her father, who has resided in an assisted living home for several years after being diagnosed with dementia, tested positive for the coronavirus a little more than a week ago.
The NFL also lost a Hall of Famer as former Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins great Bobby Mitchell has died at the age of 84. Mitchell was a three-time All-NFL selection over an 11-year career in which he spent four seasons as a halfback with the Browns from 1958 to 1961, then seven seasons as a flanker for the Redskins from 1962 to 1968 as that franchise’s first African-American player. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
Former Houston Oilers coach Ed Biles has died at the age of 88 after battling leukemia. Biles began his NFL career as an assistant in 1969 before joining the Oilers as defensive backs coach in 1974. He was promoted to defensive coordinator the following year and then took over as head coach when Bum Phillips was fired after the 1980 season.