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John Howard Vaught (May 6, 1909 – February 3, 2006) was an American
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most o ...
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the
University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...
(Ole Miss) from 1947 to 1970 and again in 1973. Born in Olney, Texas, Vaught graduated as
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...
from Polytechnic High School in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
and attended
Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disci ...
(TCU), where he was an honor student and was named an All-American in 1932. Vaught served as a line coach at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
under head coach Raymond Wolf from 1936 until 1941. In 1942, Vaught served as an assistant coach with the North Carolina Pre-Flight School. After serving in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
as a
lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank ...
in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, he took a job as an assistant coach at Ole Miss in 1946 under Harold Drew, and replaced Drew as head coach a year later. He did not take long to make an impact, taking a team that had finished 2–7 and leading it to the first conference title in school history. He led the Rebels to additional
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
titles in 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962, and 1963. To date, Vaught is the only coach in Ole Miss history to win an SEC football championship. He also dominated the Egg Bowl rivalry with Mississippi State, going 19–2–4 against the Bulldogs. His 1960 team finished 10–0–1 and was the only major-conference team to go undefeated on the field that year. As a result, it won a share of the national championship; it was awarded the Grantland Rice Award from the
Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media ou ...
after the bowl games. In those days, the wire services crowned their national champion before the bowl games. It is very likely that Ole Miss would have finished atop one poll, if not both, had they been taken after the bowl games as they are today. His 1962 team finished 10-0 and finished third in both polls; to date, it is the only undefeated and untied season in school history. Vaught took Ole Miss to 18
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
s, winning 10 times including five victories in the
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
. Only two coaches held a winning record against Vaught:
Paul "Bear" Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of t ...
, with a record of 7–6–1 against Vaught, and
Robert Neyland Robert Reese Neyland (; February 17, 1892 – March 28, 1962) was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general. He served three stints as ...
, with a record of 3–2. On September 7, 1966, Vaught told reporters from Associated Press that he was "just kidding" when he said he wanted to recruit African American players to Ole Miss. "We have to comply with some sort of act to get federal funds. We fill out a form to show that we have looked at one. By the time we find someone good enough, I'll be gone. Let someone else do that," he said, laughing. Vaught suffered a mild heart attack on October 20, 1970. His longtime line coach, Bruiser Kinard, served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season, though Ole Miss credits the entire season to Vaught. Vaught formally retired after the season. Billy Kinard, Bruiser's younger brother, succeeded him; he was appointed by his older brother, who had become athletic director. However, after a lackluster start to the 1973 season, Ole Miss fired Billy Kinard and demoted Bruiser Kinard. Vaught was named athletic director, and also served as interim head coach for the remainder of the 1973 season. Vaught's overall record at Ole Miss was 190–61–12. His 190 wins are far and away the most in school history. When Vaught arrived, Ole Miss ranked 9th in all-time SEC football standings. When he retired in 1970, Ole Miss had moved up to third, behind only Alabama and Tennessee. He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...
in 1979. In 1982, Ole Miss honored Vaught by adding his name to Hemingway Stadium. On February 3, 2006, Vaught died at the age of 96 in
Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of O ...
.


Head coaching record


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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaught, Johnny 1909 births 2006 deaths American football guards North Carolina Pre-Flight Cloudbusters football coaches North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Ole Miss Rebels athletic directors Ole Miss Rebels football coaches TCU Horned Frogs football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas People from Olney, Texas Players of American football from Texas United States Navy officers Military personnel from Texas