Question on Arky Vaughan

[OnBaseMachine]

I was looking at the career stats of brilliant Hall of Fame shortstop Arky Vaughan, and I noticed that he doesn't have any stats from 1944 to 1946. He spent his first ten years in the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then moved on to Brooklyn where he played his 1942 and '43 seasons and then again in 1947 and '48. As I am typing this out it just came to me that he most likely went to war during the 1944-1946 seasons, ala Ted Williams.

And as I was reading up on Vaughan to get more information on his missing seasons, I learned that he died at age 40 when the boat he was fishing in sank during a heavy thunderstorm on Lost Lake, near Eagleville, California.

Am I right in assuming Vaughan fought in World War II during the 1994-1946 seasons?

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

I was looking at the career stats of brilliant Hall of Fame shortstop Arky Vaughan, and I noticed that he doesn't have any stats from 1944 to 1946. He spent his first ten years in the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then moved on to Brooklyn where he played his 1942 and '43 seasons and then again in 1947 and '48. As I am typing this out it just came to me that he most likely went to war during the 1944-1946 seasons, ala Ted Williams.

And as I was reading up on Vaughan to get more information on his missing seasons, I learned that he died at age 40 when the boat he was fishing in sank during a heavy thunderstorm on Lost Lake, near Eagleville, California.

Am I right in assuming Vaughan fought in World War II during the 1994-1946 seasons?

I doubt he fought, he was the big upriser in the Dodger rebellion in 1943. During a big to do in the clubhouse he threw his jersey in Durochers face and quit.

During the war years a man often had to have a "war time" job that was registered with the goverment. Chances are Vaughn had one of those. Some pitchers would work all week and then just pitch the weekend. The Browns had a roster chock full of 4-f's, this enabled them to have a more cohisive team and the approach was somewhat wartime "Moneyball" by their insistance on leveraging the 4-F market.

Edit: Apparently his job was Ranch related.

(Oh to live on a ranch in California in the 40's)

In 1944, Vaughan stayed on his California ranch, refusing to give as the reason his obvious loathing for Durocher or his wish to support the war effort by farming.

[OnBaseMachine]

Much appreciated, woy.

IowaRed just private messaged me with this(looks like it came from the same place).

Named for his home state of Arkansas, Arky Vaughan was a quiet, gentlemanly ballplayer whose demeanor was only twice disturbed; once by Dick Bartell and then by Leo Durocher. After Bartell had been hit in the head by a throw on a double-play attempt by Vaughan, he was quoted in the press as seeking revenge when the two teams played again. He backed down when a steely-eyed Vaughan walked up to him before the game and proposed they settle their differences under the stands.

Durocher pushed the reserved Vaughan too far. An argument between the Dodger manager and Bobo Newsome raged through the Dodger club house. Finally, Vaughan presented his rolled-up uniform to his manager with a suggestion he dispose of it in an impossible manner. Vaughan stalked out and the rest of the team was ready to follow. Relations were strained the rest of the 1943 season and, in 1944, Vaughan stayed on his California ranch, refusing to give as the reason his obvious loathing for Durocher or his wish to support the war effort by farming.

He remained away from baseball until 1947, the year of Durocher's suspension. Then, after three years of idleness, he hit .325 as a part-time outfielder, third baseman, and pinch hitter (10-for-26). Vaughan drowned in 1952, just forty years old, when a boat from which he was fishing capsized. The Veterans Committee selected him for the Hall of Fame in 1985. (JK)

[redsmetz]

Here's my Arky Vaughn story and a little sleuthing at the Hall of Fame - one of my family's classic stories. When we went to the HOF, my son was about 8 years old. He had a T-shirt that we had bought at an outlet mall that was like a postage stamp with a baseball player on it, a Brooklyn Dodger. We asked someone at the hall if they could help us identify the player. Someone said PeeWee Reese, but I was skeptical. This guy looked a little more rugged than Reese did.

While we were in the baseball card collection display, my son saw a picture of Vaughn with the Pirates and he said that the guy on the card looked like the guy on the shirt. We then went to the research section and they allowed us to look at Arky Vaughn's folder (we even had to put on white gloves!) and looked at the photos in the folder.

That was the same time they let us also look at our friends minor league contract card and copy it to take to him. He played in the minors for the Reds and there were entries, done internally, which he was unaware of - roster moves when he was injured moving him to another club's DL.

[Cyclone792]

Great stuff on Vaughan, who I think is one of the most underrated players the game has ever seen. He was a protege of Honus Wagner, who was a coach for the Pirates for many of Vaughan's seasons in Pittsburgh.

Vaughan's 1935 season is one of the greatest single seasons for any shortstop ever. He hit .385/.491/.607, which even in the high scoring period of the 1930s was good for an incredible 190 OPS+. Think of it like this, Alex Rodriguez's best single season OPS+ was 167 in 2000 with Seattle, and Vaughan's 1935 season was 23 points higher.

[Spitball]

Nice post.