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.