Background
He was born in nearby Hodges Park, Illinois, then moved with his family to Portland, Oregon before returning to Tamms at age 7.
He was born in nearby Hodges Park, Illinois, then moved with his family to Portland, Oregon before returning to Tamms at age 7.
At 6"2", he played the guard position. Vaughn is the highest scorer in Illinois high school boys basketball, tallying 3,358 points during his career at Tamms High School in Tamms, Illinois (1954–1958). Vaughn also is the all-time leading scorer for Southern Illinois, where he scored 2,088 points for the Salukis and had his uniform number (20) retired by the school.
He had an unorthodox behind the head release that made his shot difficult to block.
Vaughn returned to Southern Illinois University to obtain his college diploma in 1988. He died on October 26, 2013 of cancer at the age of 73.
After leaving college, Vaughn played five seasons (1962-1967) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Saint Louis Hawks and Detroit Pistons. He joined the rival American Basketball Association in 1967 and played three seasons there as a member of the Pittsburgh/Minnesota Pipers.