Thomas Robert Vaughn (February 28, 1943 – July 5, 2020) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Iowa State and as a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1965 to 1971.
No. 48 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Safety | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | (1943-02-28)February 28, 1943 Troy, Ohio | ||||||
Died: | July 5, 2020(2020-07-05) (aged 77) | ||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Troy (OH) | ||||||
College: | Iowa State | ||||||
NFL Draft: | 1965 / Round: 5 / Pick: 57 | ||||||
AFL Draft: | 1965 / Round: 11 / Pick: 81 (by the Denver Broncos)[1] | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
| |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
Player stats at NFL.com | |||||||
Vaughn was born in 1943 at Troy, Ohio.[2] He attended Troy High School where he was a high school All-American.[3]
At Iowa State, he played as a fullback on offense and as a safety on defense.[3] He tallied 1,889 rushing yards for Iowa State between 1962 and 1964.[4] He also led the Big Eight Conference in punt returns in 1963 and 1964.[3] As a senior, he was selected by both the Associated Press and UPI as a first-team defensive back on the 1964 All-Big Eight Conference football team.[5][6]
He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 1965 NFL Draft. Between 1965 and 1971, he appeared in 88 games with the Lions, 61 as a starter, tallying nine interceptions and nine fumble recoveries. He also returned 62 kickoffs for 1,595 yards (25.7-yard average) and 33 punts for 298 yards (9.0-yard average).[2]
After missing much of the 1971 season due to a head injury, Vaughn announced his retirement in June 1972. He said at the time that he had been knocked out 20 times and was tired of it.[7]
After retiring as a player, he held assistant coaching positions with the Detroit Wheels (1974), Iowa State (1975), Missouri, Wyoming, and Arizona State.[3][8]
Vaughn died in 2020, at age 77.[3]
Denver Broncos 1965 AFL draft selections | |
---|---|
|
Detroit Lions 1965 NFL draft selections | |
---|---|
|
![]() | This biographical article relating to an American football defensive back born in the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |