Tom Furlong
Born: Daingean, Co. offaly
Career: Kicker on the Practice Squad of the New York Giants (NFL) 1965 / Pre-Season signing for Atlanta Falcons (NFL) 1966 (Cut after tearing cruciate ligaments) / Brooklyn Dodgers, Continental Football League 1966.
Biography: Tom Furlong was born in Daingean, Co. Offaly, and played Inter-County Football for Offaly, before being banned by the County Board for playing Soccer. Sitting in a bar in New York, he overheard members of the New York Giants Coaching Staff lamenting at the quality of their kickers (The Giants were having a woeful season) and having seen the game on TV, thought there was nothing to it a GAA player could not do, and volunteered to try out. He got on the Practice Squad for the Giants in 1965, leading to interviews with the New York Times and other newspapers with Irish-American connections.
The Giants brought in a new Kicker the following season, but the Irish-American Community Leaders, seeing the value of an Irish-born player in the NFL, arranged tryouts with the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots. He was signed by the Falcons for $12, 000-a-yeat contract, but unfortunately tore his cruciate ligament in training four days before the start of the season.
He didn’t give up on a Pro Career, however, as he was only working as a carpet fitter at the time and signed for the Brookyn Dodgers in the Continental Football League, where he played the 1966 season before retiring, as he thought his kicking was never as good after the injury.
Reference: [3-4]
Tom Furlong Career Statistics
| Year | No. | Team | League | Position | GP | GS |
| 1966 | 21 | Brooklyn Dodgers | CoFL | K | 6 | 0 |
Legend: No. = Shirt Number. CoFL = Continental Football League. K = Kicker. GP = Games Played. GS = Games Started.
Kicking
| Year | Team | League | FG | FGA | Pct | XP1 | XP1A | Pct | Pts |
| 1966 | Brooklyn Dodgers | CoFL | 2 | 10 | 20.0 | 19 | 21 | 90.5 | 25 |
Legend: CoFL = Continental Football League. FG = Field Goals (Successful). FGA = Field Goals Attempted. Pct = Percentage. XP1 = Extra Points (Successful). XP1A = Extra Points attempted. Pts = Total Points (3 Pts FG, 1 Pt XP1)
Punting
| Year | Team | League | No. | YDS | AVG | LG | BLOCK |
| 1966 | Brooklyn Dodgers | CoFL | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
Legend: CoFL = Continental Football League. No. = Number of Punts Made. YDS = Yards Punted. AVG = Average Yards Punted. LG = Longest Punt. BLOCK = Punts Blocked.
NFL 1965
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| Eastern Conference | |||||||
| *Cleveland Browns | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 363 | 325 | .786 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 325 | 280 | .500 |
| New York Giants | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 270 | 338 | .500 |
| Washington Redskins | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 257 | 301 | .429 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 363 | 359 | .357 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 296 | 309 | .357 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 202 | 397 | .143 |
| Western Conference | |||||||
| *Green Bay Packers | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 316 | 224 | .769 |
| Baltimore Colts | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 389 | 284 | .769 |
| Chicago Bears | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 409 | 275 | .643 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 421 | 402 | .538 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 383 | 403 | .500 |
| Detroit Lions | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 257 | 295 | .462 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 269 | 328 | .286 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Western Playoff | ||||
| 1965 | Green Bay Packers | 13 | Baltimore Colts | 10 OT |
| NFL Championship | ||||
| 1965 | Green Bay Packers | 23 | Cleveland Browns | 12 |
Tom Furlong, who was born in Co. Offaly, Ireland, was on the Practice Squad of the New York Giants in 1965 [Ref: 3-4]
NFL Preseason 1966
| P | W | L | T | Pct | |
| Baltimore Colts | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .750 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 |
| New York Giants | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | .400 |
| Washington Redskins | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .200 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .200 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | .000 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 |
Tom Furlong, who was born in Co. Offaly, Ireland, played Kicker for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL preseason 1966 [Ref: 3-4]
CoFL 1966
| P | W | L | T | |
| West Division | ||||
| Orlando Panthers | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Charleston Rockets | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| Montreal Beavers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Richmond Rebels | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| Wheeling Ironmen | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| East Division | ||||
| Toronto Rifles | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 |
| Philadelphia Bulldogs | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 |
| Norfolk Neptunes | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| Hartford Charter Oaks | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| CoFL Championship | ||||
| 1966 | Philadelphia Bulldogs | W |
Tom Furlong, who was born in Co. Offaly, Ireland, played as Kicker for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1966. [Ref: 3-4]
References:
Bibliography
[1] National Football League (2014) “Past Standings” 2014 NFL Record & Factbook . pg. 396.
Websites:
[2] Greater Northwest Football Alliance (2017) Continental Football League (1965-1969) [Internet] Available from: http://www.gnfafootball.org/continentalleague.htm [Accessed 30 August 2017]
Sources:
[3] Hannigan, Dara (1987) “Greening of the Gridiron” The Sunday Tribune , 27 July 1987. Sportweek, pg. 10 [Available online at the British Newspaper Archive: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ ]
[4] Irish Independent (2014) Tom Furlong and the NFL career that slipped away [Internet] Available from: https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/offalys-tom-furlong-and-the-nfl-career-that-slipped-away-30549405.html [Accessed 2 April 2020]
[5] Anon. (1966) NFL Exhibition Final Standings El Paso Herald Post. September 5 1966. pg. 19 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/el-paso-herald-post-sep-05-1966-p-19/ [Accessed 2 April 2020]
[6] Pro Football Archives (2020)1966 Brooklyn Dodgers Continental Football League [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/1966coflbkn.html [Accessed 2 April 2020]
Images:
[7] Irish Independent (2014) Tom Furlong and the NFL career that slipped away [Internet] Available from: https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/25ee2/30549403.ece/AUTOCROP/w1240h700/2014-08-31_spo_3142175_I1.JPG [Accessed 2 April 2020]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Tim Leadingham
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 2 April 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and World Gridiron Archive 2020
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved.