Randy "the Rat" Reutershan
No. 40
Position:Wide receiver / Return specialist / Defensive back
Personal information
Born: (1955-06-30) June 30, 1955 (age 68)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:182 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High school:Mahwah (Mahwah, New Jersey)
College:Pittsburgh
NFL draft:1978 / Round: 6 / Pick: 160
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:11
Punt returns:20
Punt return yards:148
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Randy Reutershan (born June 30, 1955) is a former American football player who performed in a single season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a member of teams that won a college football national championship and Super Bowl XIII over the Dallas Cowboys.

Early life

Reutershan was born in New York City to Warren and Doris Reutershan.[1] He attended Mahwah High School in Mahwah, New Jersey where he earned letters three years in football, basketball and track.[2]

Football career

Reutershan attended the University of Pittsburgh. In his junior season he was a wide receiver and special teams ace[2] on the Panthers team which won the national championship. He had 17 catches for 311 yards in his senior season at Pitt in 1977.[3] His tenacity as a special teams player, particularly his love of tackling on the coverage team, earned him the nickname "the Rat."[4] His college coach, Johnny Majors called Reutershan, "the most dynamic special teams performer I have ever seen."[5]

Reutershan was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1978 NFL Draft. He made the team as a defensive back after switching back and forth from wide receiver during training camp.[6] He played in eleven games in his rookie season, contributing primarily on special teams. His season was cut short in mid-November by a single vehicle roll-over automobile accident that left him with severe head injuries for which he was hospitalized for a full month.[2][7] Although he would eventually recover from his injuries, he was advised to discontinue his professional football career.[8]

Reutershan returned to his alma mater, Pittsburgh, as a wide receivers coach under Jackie Sherrill in 1979.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Doris Reutershan obituary". The Journal News. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Steeler Player Critically Injured". Tyrone (Pa.) Daily Herald. UPI. November 18, 1978. p. 5. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  3. ^ Boyles, Bob; Guido, Paul (August 1, 2007). Fifty years of college football : a modern history of America's most colorful sport. New York: Skyhorse Pub. p. 1130. ISBN 978-1-60239-090-4. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  4. ^ "Reutershan is Pitt's Specialty". Galveston Daily News. UPI. December 24, 1977. p. 2-B. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  5. ^ Livingston, Pat (May 4, 1978). "Randy's Special". Pittsburgh Press. p. C-1. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  6. ^ Stellino, Vito (October 13, 1978). "Reutershan Shifts in Numbers Game". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11,13. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  7. ^ "Reutershan Progressing Slowly at Home". Tyrone (Pa.) Daily Herald. UPI. December 20, 1978. p. 10. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  8. ^ "Reutershan Hurt in 2-Car Wreck". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 2, 1981. p. 5. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  9. ^ Isler, Jim (August 24, 1979). "Reutershan Joins Pitt Staff". The News-Dispatch (Jeannette, Pa.). p. 9. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
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