Dempsey was born in Nacogdoches, Texas. Dempsey became a standout on his team - the '83 Dallas Texans Red - at an early age, but had to quit due to his family's time and money constraints as his eldest sister Jennifer was becoming a ranked youth tennis player. But several parents of his teammates with the Texans offered to assist the Dempseys with expenses and travel, allowing him to rejoin the club. He went on to be the captain and high scorer of the Texans and was honored with MVP in the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl tournament, among other accomplishments during his time with the Club.
Always getting straight A's and doing his work, Dempsey graduated from the Texans and attended Furman University as a health and exercise major and a key player for the Paladins. In his three seasons at Furman, Dempsey started 61 out of 62 games in central midfield and scored 17 goals.
The New England Revolution selected Clint Dempsey 8th overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. His rookie season he started 23 of 24 matches scoring 7 goals. Dempsey helped the Revolution to the Eastern Conference Finals and earned 2004 MLS Rookie of the Year Honors. In 2005 Dempsey scored 10 goals and added 9 assists in 26 games. He scored the game winning goal in the Eastern Conference Final on the way to the MLS Cup Final. The following year Dempsey added 8 more goals.
In December 2006, English club Fulham offered the MLS $4 million for the transfer of Dempsey, then the largest amount ever offered for an MLS player. This made Dempsey the most expensive US export to the Premier League in a deal worth a reported £2 million. Dempsey scored his first goal for Fulham on 5 May as he struck the only goal of a 1–0 home win over Liverpool. This goal saved Fulham from relegation and effectively guaranteed their place in the top-flight for the following season, instantly making Dempsey a hero at Craven Cottage.
In 2008, he ended the season as Fulham's top Premier League goalscorer with six goals. In 2009, for the second successive season, Dempsey ended as Fulham's top Premier League goalscorer with seven goals. These goals helped Fulham secure a seventh-place finish in the Premier League, the highest in the clubs history. La Gazzetta dello Sport named Dempsey as one of the top eleven Premier League players of the 2009 season.
Dempsey came on in the 55th minute of the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final, thus becoming the first ever American to appear in a major European final. On March 19, Dempsey became the first American to score 10 goals in a Premier League season, beating Brian McBride's previous record of nine. He has scored a total of 33 goals for the team in the Premier League, including 12 goals in the 2010-11 season. At the end of the season, Dempsey was voted Fulham player of the season by Fulham fans.
Dempsey first played for the American national team at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates. He won the highest individual honor in American soccer when he was named Honda Player of the Year for 2006. In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he was the only American player to score a goal in the tournament with his equalizing goal in the Americans' eventual 2–1 loss to Ghana.
In the United States' opening 2010 World Cup qualifier, Dempsey recorded the fastest goal in U.S. qualifying history with a chest trap and sliding shot 53 seconds into a 8–0 defeat of Barbados. In the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup final group stage match against Egypt, Dempsey scored a trademark diving header. In the semi-final match against Spain, Dempsey scored to put the USA up 2–0 to send them to the finals. He was named the Man of the Match for his performance. Dempsey scored in his third straight game in the Confederations Cup Final against Brazil. Following the loss, he was awarded the Bronze Ball as the tournament's 3rd best performer. On June 12, 2010, Dempsey became the second American to score in more than one World Cup when he scored the equalizer goal against England in the Americans' first game of the 2010 World Cup.
Clint's Jersey can be found hanging in the rafters in the Texans Clubhouse at Ross Stewart, where he also has a parking spot named in his honor.
