Thomas "Tommy" Arthur Vardell (born February 20, 1969, in El Cajon, California

El Cajon, California

-History:El Cajon is located on the Rancho El Cajon Mexican land grant made in 1845 to María Antonia Estudillo, wife of Miguel Pedrorena. In 1876 Amaziah Lord Knox , a New Englander who had recently moved to California, established a hotel there to serve the growing number of people traveling...

) is a former professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

.

College career

Tommy Vardell was a star running back for the Stanford Cardinal

Stanford Cardinal

The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...

. In 1990, Vardell was given the nickname "Touchdown Tommy" by then Stanford head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 Denny Green after scoring four touchdowns (all from the one yard line) against Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

. For the Cardinal

Stanford Cardinal football

The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...

, Vardell rushed for 1,843 yards with 37 touchdowns in his college career. He never fumbled once for Stanford, and ranks second in Stanford football history for most touchdowns and third for most rushing yards. Until his record was broken by Toby Gerhart

Toby Gerhart

Toby Gerhart is a professional football player, a running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was a consensus All-American running back at Stanford and was selected in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the 51st overall pick. In 2009 Gerhart won the Doak Walker...

 in 2008, Vardell held the record for most rushing yards in a season by a Cardinal running back, with 1084 yards in 1991.

NFL Draft

Vardell's stellar performance for Stanford in 1991 resulted in him being one of the top draft picks in 1992 NFL draft. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 under then head coach Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick

William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...

 in the first round (9th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft

1992 NFL Draft

The 1992 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft...

.

NFL career

In his pro career, Vardell played in eight NFL seasons as the fullback for the Browns, the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

, and the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

. He overcame a career threatening knee injury early in his career and retired with 22 touchdowns.

He was the starting

Starting lineup

A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 fullback when Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...

 rushed for 2,053 yards in the 1997–1998 NFL season. Vardell was also the first fullback used by Sanders in his career.

Personal life

Vardell is married to Andrea, and he with his family reside in California. Vardell is an avid collector of antiques and oriental rugs.

Upon retirement from football in 1999, he co-founded Northgate Capital, a private equity investment firm with offices in Danville, California

Danville, California

The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that uses "town" in its name instead of "city". The population was 42,039 in 2010. Danville is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Oakland and San...

 and London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, UK. He currently serves as a Managing Director of the firm.

High School

Granite hills, El Cajon California. Football and Wrestling.
December 6, 2010 named one of the top 50 all time SDCIF high school athletes