Every year around this time, Ed Podolak is sure to get a call from a sportswriter or two, wanting to do an interview. “I’ve always been a little popular around Christmas,” he says.
That’s because 46 years ago, on Christmas Day in 1971, the former Kansas City running back played the game of his life in the divisional round of the playoffs—in what turned out to be the longest game in NFL history.
Podolak and the Chiefs battled the Dolphins in Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium through two overtimes and 82 minutes and 40 seconds of game play, before the Dolphins pulled away with a 27–24 win.