Dempsey's talents yielded SLU honors
Kirk Dempsey was such a standout athlete coming out of St. Lawrence Central, that his options were almost limitless.
He tried Villanova on a baseball scholarship, but that didn't work out. So, after his freshman season, he came back to St. Lawrence County, enrolled at St. Lawrence University, and compiled a brilliant football and baseball career for the Saints.
The North Lawrence native set 15 school records as quarterback for SLU and won All-America honors in both football and baseball for the Saints.
Dempsey began as a sophomore starter on the high school varsity football team. When longtime SLC coach Jerry Mahoney told him midway through the season that he would take over as the team's starting quarterback, the Larries were 1-3. With Dempsey behind center, they finished the season 4-3-1.
Dempsey acquired a reputation as a dedicated athlete, who always seemed to be in charge on the field. During his senior season in 1972, he was named a high school All-American. He also excelled in hockey and baseball for SLC.
Dempsey made his biggest mark in college as a senior. The Saints won their first NCAA berth in football after achieving their best mark (8-1) since 1950. After leading SLU to its first playoff victory, Dempsey and the Saints lost in the national semifinals, 38-36 to Towson State.
He passed for 4,152 yards in three years as quarterback for the Saints, completing 301 of 637 passes for 39 touchdowns. He still owns the best single-game passing performance in SLU history when he completed 26 of 39 passes for 322 yards, five touchdowns and 376 yards of total offense against SUNY Plattsburgh in 1976.
He still owns SLU records for pass completions in a game (26), attempts in a season (386), touchdown passes in a career (39) and a season (19).
As a baseball player, he was a first-team All-America at second base, and led the team in hitting (.377) and RBIs as a senior. He led the nation in doubles as a junior. Dempsey said in a 1992 interview with the Times that he preferred baseball to football. He was offered a professional baseball contract by the Philadelphia Phillies. But he decided, after three knee operations, that his competitive career was over.
He was inducted into the St. Lawrence Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. He also will be inducted into the hall as part of the 1976 SLU football team this fall.
Dempsey has lived and worked as a businessman and stock broker in Arizona for the last few decades. He now lives in Pinetop, Ariz.
To read about previous selections to the Times' list of The North Country's Greatest Athletes of All Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com.
