Charles "Chico" Vaughn (February 19, 1940 – October 25, 2013) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. At 6'2", he played the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

position. Vaughn is the highest scorer in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

high school boys basketball, tallying 3,358 points during his career at Egyptian High School in

Tamms, Illinois Tamms is a village in Alexander County, Illinois, United States. The population was 430 at the 2020 census, down from 632 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Tamms w ...

(1954–1958). He was born in nearby

Hodges Park, Illinois Unity, also known as Hodges Park Station, is an unincorporated community in Alexander County, Illinois, United States. Illinois Route 127 passes by Unity south of Tamms. The population as of the 2020 census was 98. Geography According to the ...

, then moved with his family to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

before returning to Tamms at age 7. Vaughn also is the all-time leading scorer for

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

, where he scored 2,088 points for the Salukis and had his uniform number (20) retired by the school. He had an unorthodox behind the head release that made his shot difficult to block. After leaving college, Vaughn played five seasons (1962–67) in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

as a member of the St. Louis Hawks and Detroit Pistons. He joined the rival

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

in 1967 and played three seasons there as a member of the Pittsburgh/Minnesota Pipers. Vaughn was the fourth leading scorer (19.9 points per game) on the 1967–68 Pipers team which won the 1968 ABA Championship. Vaughn returned to SIU to obtain his college diploma in 1988. He died on October 26, 2013 of cancer at the age of 73.

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1940 births 2013 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Portland, Oregon Detroit Pistons players Minnesota Pipers players Pittsburgh Pipers players Point guards San Diego Rockets expansion draft picks Shooting guards Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball players St. Louis Hawks draft picks St. Louis Hawks players {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub