Tommy Vaughn
No. 48
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born:(1943-02-28)February 28, 1943
Troy, Ohio, U.S.
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 highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:9
Fumble recoveries:9
Player stats at NFL.com

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.

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] He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ "1965 AFL Draft". Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Tom Vaughn". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Former Detroit Lions free safety, specials teams player Tommy Vaughn dies at 77". Detroit Free Press. July 5, 2020.
  4. ^ "Tom Vaughn". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "Associated Press All-Big 8". The Lincoln Star. December 2, 1964. p. 21.
  6. ^ "Nebraska Puts Five On UPI All-Big Eight Offensive Team". The Lincoln Star. December 4, 1964. p. 21.
  7. ^ "Lion Vaughn Decides to Quit". Detroit Free Press. June 13, 1972 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Ex-Lion banks on Arizona State". Detroit Free Press. September 14, 1985 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  10. ^ Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.


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