Preston Ridlehuber Howard Preston Ridlehuber ( born November 2 , 1943 in Greenwood , South Carolina ) is a former American collegiate and Professional Football running back in the NFL and the American Football League ( AFL ) . He played one season each for the NFL ' s Atlanta Falcons and the AFL ' s Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills . He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 11th round , pick 166 overall , in the 1966 NFL draft and by the New York Jets in the 19th round , pick 168 overall , of the 1966 AFL draft . Ridlehuber is best known for scoring a touchdown with 33 seconds remaining in a game against the New York Jets , by recovering a fumble d kickoff . It occurred in the Heidi Game , and was not seen by television viewers because NBC switched from football coverage to the 1968 film " Heidi " . The Heidi Game or Heidi Bowl as it is also known led to a change in the way professional football is televised on network television ; games are now shown to their conclusion before evening programming begins . His most notable Buffalo Bills highlight came during a game against the 0 – 5 then called Boston Patriots . Preston was a backup running back with the 2 – 3 Bills . O . J . Simpson had been concussed in Houston the week before and was not dressed for the Patriots game . Fullback Wayne Patrick ( number 30 ) had run 17 times for 131 yards . Max Anderson ( number 22 ) also known as Mini Max Anderson had 10 carries for 46 yards . Mini Max was injured during a collision on the field . His face mask shattered and Anderson ' s teeth were broken and lying on the turf . While medical personnel were administering to Max , Bill ' s coach John Rauch called for Preston along the sideline . The score was tied 16 – 16 late in the 4th quarter . Rauch knelt down and drew a play out in the dirt . The play , a halfback option play , had been practiced for the last couple of weeks . It was originally planned for O . J . to throw a short pass to the Tight end . The Bills were in a short yardage situation , and this pass completion would keep the drive alive . Preston took the play into the huddle and the play was set in motion . On the snap , Ridlehuber who had been a quarterback at Georgia , noticed that the Patriots cornerback was closing in on the Tight end . His better judgement told him , to look elsewhere for an available receiver . He then saw Bills wide receiver Haven Moses wide open . He tossed a pass to the open Moses and he scored a touchdown on the long 45 yard pass completion . When he returned to the bench , Coach Rauch congratulated him , and said : ' Be glad it worked . ' The play gave the Bills a 23 – 16 lead . This touchdown stood up and was the final score . Notably , during that game , his regular jersey number ( 37 ) was ripped ; as such , a replacement jersey with the number 31 was given to him to wear instead . The number 31 was retired for most of the team ' s history to represent a generic player and the " spirit of the franchise ; " Ridlehuber would be the only player to wear the number for the Bills until it was unceremoniously put back into circulation in 1991 . Preston now is Honorary Commissioner of the Preston Ridlehuber Football League . This fantasy football league has been in existence since 1991 and is named as a tribute to a man who made great plays before and after his time with the Buffalo Bills . A career ending injury prevented the world from enjoying Preston ' s contributions on the field . Education . Ridlehuber is a graduate of Gainesville High School in Gainesville , Georgia where he was an all - around athlete in football , baseball , basketball and track . He received All - State honors as a baseball pitcher and football quarterback . He then attended the University of Georgia where he played quarterback on the football team rather than sign as a pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He won the C . M . Hendricks MVP award in the 1964 Sun Bowl where Georgia defeated Texas Tech . He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity at Georgia . For more information , go to WWW . MyPRFL . com ( My Preston Ridlehuber Football League . com ) Currently , Preston Ridlehuber works as a substitute teacher in Florida .