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| No. 14 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1947-09-01)September 1, 1947 (age 77) Atlantic, Iowa, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 204 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Atlantic | ||||||||||||
| College: | Iowa | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1969:2nd round, 48th pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Edward Joseph Podolak (born September 1, 1947) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back for nine seasons with theKansas City Chiefs of theAmerican Football League (AFL) andNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theIowa Hawkeyes.
Ed Podolak was born on a small farm nearAtlantic, Iowa on September 1, 1947. His father, Joe was a farmer and a military veteran and his mother Dorothy was a school teacher. Ed worked on the farm, played baseball in the summer, football in the fall, and basketball in the winter, his parents allowing him to curtail his farm work during his athletic events. TheAtlantic High School Trojan football teams went undefeated in Podolak's junior and senior seasons, as Ed quarterbacked the team, winning conference titles both years. The Atlantic Trojan basketball team made it to two state tournament appearances, with Podolak playing forward. Following high school,Iowa State University hired Podolak's high school coach, Howard Justice, to coach quarterbacks, but Podolak chose to attend theUniversity of Iowa.[1]
In this era, college freshmen were not eligible to play varsity sports, but Podolak won the starting quarterback job for Iowa as a sophomore. In his first college start, Podolak was named “Offensive Player of the Week” after the game against theArizona Wildcats, a 42–7 Iowa victory.[2] After starting at quarterback for two and a half years for the Hawkeyes, he moved to tailback, five games into his senior season, because of an injury to the starting tailback. He set a Hawkeye and Big 10 rushing record of 286 yards in his second start at running back.[1]
In Podolak'scollege football career at theUniversity of Iowa, he was aquarterback for two seasons before converting torunning back. As a quarterback, Podolak threw 28 interceptions and eight touchdowns, but he excelled as a running back in 1968, rushing for 937 yards and eight touchdowns while gaining an average of six yards per carry, also catching 12 passes for 188 yards and another score.[3][4]
In 1968, Podolak rushed for a then–Big Ten record with 286 yards on 17 carries in the Hawkeyes' 68–34 victory overNorthwestern. Podolak earned All–Big 10 honors following the 1968 season.[5]
Podolak was selected in thesecond round of the1969 NFL/AFL draft, 48th overall, by theKansas City Chiefs, and the team wonSuper Bowl IV in his rookie season.[6][7]
During a nine-year career from1969 to1977, Podolak became the Chiefs' all-time leading rusher with 4,451 yards and 34 touchdowns on 1,158 carries. He was also known for his work as a pass receiver, catching 288 passes for 2,456 yards and six touchdowns and as a return man on special teams, averaging 8.6 yards per punt and 20.5 yards per kickoff return. His 8,178 career combined yards are the second-most in the team's history. Podolak led the Chiefs in rushing four times, in receiving three times, and in punt returns three times.[8]
In the Chiefs'playoff loss to theMiami Dolphins on Christmas Day in 1971 (still the longest game in NFL history), Podolak had a playoff-record 350 total yards: 85 rushing, 110 receiving, and 155 on returns.[9][10] Podolak, who wore jersey number 14, was inducted into the Chiefs' Hall of Fame in 1989.[11]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Y/G | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | FR | ||
| 1969 | KC | 4 | 0 | did not record any rushing stats | 3 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1970 | KC | 14 | 9 | 168 | 749 | 4.5 | 53.5 | 65 | 3 | 26 | 307 | 11.8 | 59 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 1971 | KC | 13 | 11 | 184 | 708 | 3.8 | 54.5 | 25 | 9 | 36 | 252 | 7.0 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1972 | KC | 13 | 10 | 171 | 615 | 3.6 | 47.3 | 30 | 4 | 46 | 345 | 7.5 | 27 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
| 1973 | KC | 14 | 13 | 210 | 721 | 3.4 | 51.5 | 25 | 3 | 55 | 445 | 8.1 | 25 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 1974 | KC | 9 | 8 | 101 | 386 | 3.8 | 42.9 | 14 | 2 | 43 | 306 | 7.1 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1975 | KC | 14 | 4 | 102 | 351 | 3.4 | 25.1 | 25 | 3 | 37 | 332 | 9.0 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1976 | KC | 10 | 4 | 88 | 371 | 4.2 | 37.1 | 22 | 5 | 13 | 156 | 12.0 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1977 | KC | 13 | 6 | 133 | 550 | 4.1 | 42.3 | 41 | 5 | 32 | 313 | 9.8 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Career | 104 | 65 | 1,157 | 4,451 | 3.8 | 42.8 | 65 | 34 | 288 | 2,456 | 8.5 | 59 | 6 | 42 | 4 | |
After retirement, Podolak turned to broadcasting. He worked as acolor commentator for NFL telecasts onNBC in 1978. In 1982, he began working as a commentator for Iowa Hawkeye football games onWHO radio inDes Moines and a statewide network. He worked withplay-by-play announcerJim Zabel until 1996 and then withGary Dolphin.[12][13] Podolak announced on April 22, 2024, that he is retiring from his role as color analyst after 42 years.[14]