Randy Vataha


Randel Edward "Randy" Vataha, is a former American football player, a wide receiver for seven seasons in the National Football League, the first six with the New England Patriots.

Early years

Born in Santa Monica, California, Vataha lettered in four sports at Rancho Alamitos High School in Garden Grove; he was a quarterback in football and graduated

College career

Vataha made the transition to wide receiver at Golden West Junior College in then transferred up the coast to Stanford of the Pacific-8 Conference in 1969 under head coach John Ralston and became one of quarterback Jim Plunkett's favorite receiving targets. As seniors in 1970, they connected on a 96-yard touchdown a Stanford record which stood until 1999.
At the end of that season, Vataha scored the last touchdown in Stanford's upset of #2 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, a ten-yard pass from Plunkett with eight minutes both are members of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame. Plunkett won the Heisman Trophy and was the first pick of the 1971 NFL Draft; Stanford climbed to eighth in the final AP poll with a
Vataha was nicknamed "Rabbit" for his moves on the field and worked one summer at Disneyland in costume as one of the

NFL career

Vataha was selected in the 17th round of that NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams. Released in training camp, he was signed as a free agent by the New England Patriots, where he was reunited with Plunkett. He was named to UPI's AFC all-rookie team in and played six seasons with the Patriots; he ended his career with the Green Bay Packers

After football

After retiring from football, Vataha was a founding member of the United States Football League in 1983, owning 50% of the Boston Breakers. He is now the president of , a company that specializes in the buying and selling of professional