Arky Vaughan

Joseph Floyd "Arky" Vaughan (March 9, 1912 - August 30, 1952) was a Major League Baseball shortstop.

Born in Clifty, Arkansas, Vaughan made his major league debut in 1932 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He quickly built a reputation as a superb hitter, batting .318 in his first year, and knocking in over 90 runs in 1933, 1934 and 1935. Over the following decade, he asserted established himself as one of the finest hitting shortstops to ever play the game, batting over .300 in every season through 1941, and regularly being at or near the top of the league in runs scored, RBI, batting average, stolen bases and walks.

Vaughan was traded prior to the 1942 season to the Brooklyn Dodgers and was unable to maintain his high standards of play in his new city, despite leading the league with 20 stolen bases in 1943. Vaughan missed three years before returning in 1947. He played in his only World Series that season, losing to the New York Yankees, and retired after the 1948 season. He retired with 1173 runs scored, 96 home runs, 926 RBI, 118 steals, a .318 batting average (the second higher mark for a Hall of Fame shortstop) and a .406 on base percentage. His best personal year came in 1935 when he hit .385 (a 20th century record for National League shortstops) with 19 home runs and 99 RBI.

Vaughan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

External links

• Arky Vaughan's career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
• Baseball Hall of Fame Biography