Ed Podolak can't run. Isn't that something? The man who rambled like a lion now limps like a lamb.
As a Kansas City Chiefs running back from 1969-77, Podolak set the bar, a tank with tap-dancer's feet and a stiff-arm that struck like the sweet spot of an aluminum bat. In his prime, he was holy hell, a bulldog who set the single-game NFL record for total yards in a postseason contest (350).
"Of course, when you get to my age, you're not going to be able to run anyways," Podolak tells FOXSports.com with a gruff voice and a guffaw.
"But I'm not going to be able to run, or climb mountains. I'll be able to walk along the beach and play golf. If this injury had happened in my 40s, it might have had more of an impact on what I'd be capable of enjoying over the rest of my life."
The brown walrus moustache of old runs a fair shade of silver these days. Podolak, the No. 4 all-time leading rusher in Chiefs history, will turn 65 in September. He got his right hip replaced three weeks ago, his 15th surgery over the last nine months. Still, considering the potholes of the past year and a half, the Iowa native figures he's damn lucky to be upright.
"I was very blessed," he says, "in that I had a lot of support throughout my recovery and I was able to recover from the injuries with just minor long-term impact."
The nadir was the early morning of Feb. 20, 2011, when the former University of Iowa standout was struck by a car while trying to cross a six-lane road in Scottsdale, Ariz. The accident broke two ribs, bones in both legs and the orbital bone around his right eye. A chunk of his forehead got ripped open, pushing his scalp back.
"I think I saw him before he saw me and I started backing up to let him go by," Podolak recalls of the driver. "And he saw me and he thought I was continuing in front of him and he swerved to miss me. … There used to be in this country things called 'accidents.' Now it's always somebody's fault."
Each step on the road back, however careful, is a blessing. Podolak — whose eclectic set of pals includes musician Jimmy Buffett — is one of football's great story-tellers; he's spent the last month or so regaling listeners along the Hawkeyes' spring banquet circuit with his saga.
There were the good days, when old friends such as ex-Kansas City teammate Jack Rudnay would amble over to cheer him up, when Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt and general manager Scott Pioli would call to check in. And there were the lousy days, such as when doctors spotted a serious infection in Podolak's lower right leg. And when a Scottsdale police officer cited him for jaywalking at the time of the incident.
"Yeah, that ticket was written immediately," Podolak sighs. "I actually had a court-appointed hearing on the charge while I was still in intensive care in the hospital. They don't waste time collecting their traffic fines."
He paid it out anyway — $175.
"Don't jaywalk," Podolak chortles.
Another postscript: Podolak helps call Hawkeye football games on the team's radio network; he was back in Scottsdale late last December as part of the Iowa entourage that hit Phoenix for the 2011 Insight Bowl. A few days before the contest, on the way to a function, he happened to drive right by the accident site.
"And I was actually wearing the pair of shoes that I was wearing the night that I got hit," Podolak says. "But I had no desire to get out of the car."
At any rate, he can see the end of the tunnel this summer, the light in the distance growing brighter by the day. Podolak is slated to finish rehab work on the hip in Iowa City and Des Moines in a few more days before getting the green light to head back home to Colorado.
He hopes to be a part of the Chiefs' 50th anniversary celebrations — Podolak was selected to the franchise's 40th anniversary all-time team, sharing the backfield with Len Dawson and Christian Okoye — but hasn't locked into specific dates or times. For now, it's about recharging. Recharging and golf.
"I haven't been able to play for a couple years," he says. "My right hip had been bothering me more to the point where I didn't play golf up until my accident for about a year. Hopefully, I'll be back on the golf course in another month, and then I can do everything an aging athlete ought to be able to do: Bitch and play golf."
With that, Podolak chortles again. Friends like to joke that Ed was born with nine lives, and that he's probably burned through at least six already. Then again, when you're on a roll, who the heck's counting?
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter @seankeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com
