James Leslie "Hippo" Vaughn (April 9, 1888 – May 29, 1966) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. In a career that spanned thirteen seasons, he played for the New York Highlanders (1908, 1910–1912), the Washington Senators (1912), and the Chicago Cubs (1913–1921). Vaughn won over twenty games in five seasons for the Cubs. His highlight year was , where he earned a National League-leading 22 wins when the season was ended a month early due to government restrictions brought about by World War I. That same year, Vaughn also led the National League in earned run average (ERA) and strikeouts to become the ninth triple crown winner in the modern era and the fifteenth overall. His nickname of "Hippo" came from his height of 6 feet 4 inches and weight of 215 pounds.
Early life
Vaughn was born in Weatherford, Texas to Josephine and stonemason Thomas Vaughn.
He began his career in baseball in 1906 in the Texas League, playing for the Temple Boll Weevils. He played the following year with the Corsicana Oilers/Desperados in the North Texas League. Vaughn played with two teams for 1908; he first played 12 games for the Hot Springs Vaporites of the Arkansas State League, going 9–1 before being called up by the New York Highlanders. Later in the year, he pitched for the Scranton Miners of the New York State League, where he went 2–4 in nine games. Vaughn began 1909 with the Macon Peaches of the South Atlantic League. He went 9–16 with a 1.95 ERA, although he threw a no-hitter. Later, he played with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association, where he went 8–1 with a 2.05 ERA with another no-hitter.
Major league career
New York Highlanders and struggles (1908–1912) Vaughn made two appearances in the 1908 season for the New York Highlanders. In innings pitched, he allowed one hit and a run with four walks and two strikeouts.
In 1910, he joined the Highlanders for spring training. His showcase of pitching led to manager George Stallings naming Vaughn to pitch the first game of the season. Facing the Eddie Cicotte of the Boston Red Sox on April 14, 1910, at Hilltop Park, Vaughn pitched fourteen innings, allowing four runs (none unearned), although he held them scoreless after the fifth inning. Both teams had eleven hits, although New York committed three errors. Vaughn walked two and struck out seven. However, the game was called after 14 innings due to darkness. He pitched a shutout in his next appearance nine days later against the Washington Senators in a shortened six inning effort, although the game ended with a scoreless tie. On May 7, he received his first winning decision when he pitched a complete ten inning victory over Boston, allowing one run on seven hits while striking out four in a 4–1 win. Vaughn appeared in 30 games for the season, going 13–11 with a 1.83 ERA while having 18 complete games and one save. In 221.2 innings, he had 107 strikeouts with 58 walks. Fielding wise, he made five putouts with 73 assists along with eight errors and two double plays for a .907 fielding percentage. He ranked in the top ten in ERA (9th), shutouts (5th with five), home runs per 9 innings (8th with 0.041), but also hit by pitch (9th with ten) and errors committed (5th). The Highlanders finished in second in the American League by 14.5 games to the Philadelphia Athletics going 88–63.
The following year, he was selected to pitch the Opening Day game for the Highlanders, this time in Shibe Park against the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Athletics and Chief Bender. He pitched a complete game while allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk while earning a 2–1 win. The rest of the year was not as shining. After three games in April, he didn't pitch again until June. He went 8–10 with a 4.39 ERA in 26 games in 145.2 innings, having 74 strikeouts and 54 walks while having ten complete games. He improved in fielding, making nine putouts, 41 assists, four errors with one double play for a .926 fielding percentage.
Vaughn spent 1912 with three teams. Vaughn appeared for the final two outs of the Opening Day game against the Boston Red Sox, pitching in relief of Ray Caldwell. He went 2–8 with a 5.14 ERA in 15 games and 63 innings for the Highlanders, having 46 strikeouts and 37 walks while having just five complete games. On June 26, he was sold to the Washington Senators. He went 4–3 with a 2.89 ERA in 12 games and 81 innings, having 49 strikeouts and 43 walks with four complete games before being sold to the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. He went 2–3 in his appearances with the team.