Arky Vaughn: Hall of Fame SS.

Joseph Floyd Vaughn: Born March 9th, 1912, in the town of Clifty, Arkansas. His parents, Robert and Laura Vaughn, moved the family to Mendocino, California, when Vaughn was about 7 months old. They would later move to Fullerton, where his father found work in the oilfields. His friends began calling him Arky when they learned of his birthplace, and for the rest of his life, he was called Arky.

At 5’10” and 175lbs, Vaughn was a multisport star at Fullerton High School. He also played on the undefeated Cypress Merchants of the Orange County Winter League in 1930-31. A neighbor of Vaughn’s tipped off Pirates scout Art Griggs about the youngster’s abilities and Griggs signed him in January of 1931.

In his first season of professional baseball, the 19-year-old Vaughn made an immediate impact for his Class-A Western League Wichita Aviators. He batted .338 with 21 homers, 81 RBIs, and a league-leading 145 runs scored. He also stole 43 bases. That performance got him a promotion to the Pirates.

No-hit, good-field Tommy Thevenow had been the Pirates’ regular SS in 1931, The manager, George Gibson, started him in the opener. Five days later, the 20-year-old Vaughn made his MLB debut and struck out as a pinch hitter. On April 28, he made his first start at SS because Thevenow had broken a finger. It was an impressive debut as the lefty-swinging Vaughn had two triples and three runs batted in. The next day against future Hall of Famer Eppa Rixey, he went 2-4. Now firmly established as the Pirates starting SS, he had a 5-5 day on June 7th and hit his first homer off of Jim Mooney of the Giants on July 26th.

His rookie BA was .318, but he struggled in the field, committing a league-leading 46 errors. On August 11, Vaughn, the youngest player in the NL made a crucial error against the Cubs in the 10th inning that allowed the Cubs to beat the Pirates and take over first place. The Pirates would eventually finish in second place, four games behind Chicago.

Arky played all but two games in 1933 as the Pirate SS. He also began to exhibit good power. On May 1, he and catcher Earl Grace both slugged grand slams in a rout of the Phillies. For Vaughn, whose homer was inside the park, it was the first of four he would hit in the majors. On June 24, he hit for the cycle against the Dodgers, going 5-5. He also showed excellent speed. He hit .314 for the year, and the Pirates finished second again.

With Vaughn still having trouble in the field, the Pirates hired legendary SS Honus Wagner to instruct the young SS. Wagner even roomed with his young protégé. Honus was not much of a teacher, but his presence seemed to calm the kid down. Fifty-one games into the 1934 season, the Pirates replaced Gibson with Pie Traynor. The Pirates slipped to 5th place, but Vaughn hit .333 with 42 doubles, 11 triples, 12 homers, and 94 RBIs. He made the All-Star team and entered the game as a pinch runner. He did not get any hits, but he had two putouts and an assist in the field.

Vaughn had the best season of his career in 1935. He was hitting over .400 into mid-September, but an 8-game slump dropped his average to .385, He had nineteen homers and ninety-nine RBIs. His .491 OBP is still the highest ever by a Pirate. He continued to shine in 1936, posting a .335/9/78 line, and he drew 118 walks.

During most of his time with the team, the Pirates were not very good. They finished 2nd twice, getting knocked out the last weekend in 1938 when they were swept by the Cubs. Otherwise, they were middle of the pack or lower. Vaughn hit .300 or over his entire 10-year career in Pittsburgh. He made the All-Star team eight times. Frankie Frisch took over as manager in 1940, but Vaughn appeared in only 106 games. He was injured twice and missed time. Once for a spike wound that cost him two weeks. Then later in the season, he suffered a concussion in an exhibition game. He tried to come back but suffered headaches and was ordered to rest by the doctors.

Despite the drop in production, he was again chosen as the NL’s starting SS in the All-Star game. It was played at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, and he had a memorable game. He singled and hit two two-run homers. It looked like the NL would win as he helped put them up 5-2. But the AL won on Ted Williams’s dramatic 9th inning 3-run shot, 7-5.

That winter, on December 12th, 1941, the Pirates traded Vaughn to the Dodgers for Luke Hamlin, Pete Coscarart, Babe Phelps, and Jimmy Wasdell. Pirate fans shook their heads. They did not want to see their SS get away. Vaughn played mostly 3B for Brooklyn, and they had a kid named Reese at SS. He hit .277 as the Dodgers won 104 games and still finished 2nd to the Cardinals.

Arky rebounded in 1943, hitting .305 and leading the NL in stolen bases with 20. It would be his last season as a regular. With Reese in the Navy, he spent the majority of his games at SS and played 55 games at third.

On July 10th of that year, Vaughn was having breakfast with teammates Billy Herman and Augie Galan. Durocher had suspended pitcher Bobo Newsom for insubordination. Vaughn was well respected by the players as a man and as a ballplayer. Vaughn was reading the newspaper, and Durocher had given an interview and made some accusations against Newsom. That seemed to upset Vaughn, and when they got back to the ballpark, he went into Durocher’s office and angrily confronted him. Durocher said yes, he had given the interview.

Vaughn left the office, went to his locker, took off his uniform, packed everything into a big bundle, and went back to Durocher’s office. ” Take this uniform and shove it right up your ass.” He threw it in Durocher’s face. “If you would lie about Bobo, you would lie about me and everyone else, I am not playing for you.”

His teammates backed him and decided not to play against the Pirates that afternoon. Durocher enlisted the aid of Branch Rickey to get the players to come back and play the game. Bobo and Vaughn watched the game in street clothes down the rightfield line. Rickey came and coaxed Vaughn to come back, and he was in uniform and on the bench by the end of the game, but he made his point.

After the season, Vaughn decided to put his baseball career on hold and went home to his former high school sweetheart and wife, Margaret, and his four children on their ranch in Northern California. He was no doubt still upset with Durocher. For the next three years, he remained until, in 1947, at the age of 35, Rickey coaxed him back to the Dodgers.

It was Robinson’s rookie year, and Vaughn went out of his way to treat the young Robinson with kindness and respect. Robinson would later say how grateful he was to Vaughn for that kindness because he needed it. Vaughn hit .325 as a part-time player. With the Dodgers winning the pennant in 47, he got to play in his only World Series, getting a walk and the three-run double in three plate appearances.

He returned in 48 again as a part-time player, hit .244 in 65 games, and called it a career. Wanting to be closer to home, he played for the San Francisco Seals in 1949; he hit .288 in 99 games. He then retired from professional baseball.

Following his retirement, he committed himself to his family, his ranch, and his fishing hobby. On August 30th, 1952, he and a friend, Bill Wilmer, took their fishing boat to Lost Lake, east of the Northern California town of Eagleville. The lake, in the middle of an extinct volcano, had reportedly never been sounded. The skiff capsized, and according to a witness, Vaughn and Wilmer started swimming towards the shore.

They had gone about 65 yards in the chilly water and were only about 20 feet from shore when they sank in water about 20 feet deep. Later reports said Vaughn was trying to save Wilmer, who reportedly could not swim. Their bodies were recovered the early the next morning. Vaughn was 40 years old.

The baseball world mourned his death. Tributes came in from all around the baseball world. Pee Wee called him ” a steady, easy-going guy who had a long life to look forward to.” Lavagetto said,” I never knew a finer fellow or a better team man.”

Ignoring his accomplishments, the BBWAA never gave him more than 29 percent of the votes. He fell off the ballot in 1968. But in 1985, the Veterans Committee righted that wrong. He was elected to the Hall where he should have been years before. His career line is .318/96/926. He stole 118 bases. He struck out only 276 times in over 6600 at-bats. His career WAR is 78.0. He is fourth all-time on the Pirates in that stat. Only Wagner, Clemente, and Paul Waner are ahead of him. Arky was truly an underrated player and one of the best SS of all time.