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AHOSKIE – Whisper the word Ahoskie among fans of amateur sports across North Carolina and more than likely you will hear…“oh, yea, that’s a football town.”

And one of the men who made it that way was Albert (Al) Lee Vaughan.

Vaughan, who played on one state championship football team at the old Ahoskie High School and was the head coach when the Indians/Cougars won two other state titles, passed away on June 25. He was 91 years old.

“He made a significant impact on my life and the lives of many others during his time in coaching and teaching at Ahoskie High School,” said Dr. Mike Alston, a 1970 AHS graduate who has served his community for over 45 years as a family physician. “He not only prepared us for athletics, but also for life.”

Alston stressed that Vaughan was demanding, very disciplined, and extremely structured with great attention to detail and preparation.

“Coach Vaughan could be very intimidating and intense, but I think he was always trying to get the best out of his players,” Alston said, adding that he also played basketball and American Legion baseball for Vaughan from 1968-1970.

“We were always well prepared, and he was ahead of his time in regard to conditioning, strength training, and scouting opponents,” Alston noted.

Alston recalled the time when Vaughan returned from a coaching clinic at the University of Alabama, which was then coached by the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant, with all kinds of new drills and innovations to incorporate at Ahoskie High.

“He was always trying to give us an edge,” Alston said.

Dennis Everett was a senior two-way starter on Vaughan’s undefeated (12-0) team in 1966 that captured the state Class AA championship.

“The thing I remember the most about coach Vaughan was the physical conditioning he put us through,” Everett recalled. “If you could survive his grueling two-a-day workouts in the summer heat before the season started then Friday nights were like a walk-through. We had plenty of energy on Friday nights.”

After earning a scholarship to Elon College (now a university), Everett said the physical conditioning was just as intense, but he was prepared.

“There were players struggling to get through those practice sessions, but they weren’t all that bad to me because coach Vaughan already had me in shape,” he said.

When Everett landed a job as coach at Ridgecroft School, he instilled some of that level of conditioning into his players.

“I always prepared my kids to be in better shape than our opponents,” he said.

Everett went to become the Parks and Recreation Director for the Town of Ahoskie, retiring in 2010. He later worked at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex before retiring again in 2022.

A three-sport (football, basketball, baseball) all-conference player at Ahoskie High School, Vaughan graduated in 1952. He was part of the school’s 1951 Class A state championship football team.

After serving in the U.S. Army, Vaughan received a grant-in-aid to play all three sports at Chowan College (now a university). While there he was selected as the school’s Most Outstanding Male Athlete and Most Valuable Player award as a freshman, holding a record for scoring 23 touchdowns in two seasons. In 1985 he was among the first class of inductees into the Chowan Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1957, Vaughan accepted a full baseball scholarship from East Carolina University. His career there saw Vaughan named All North State Conference, All State, and NAIA All District. As the team’s Co-Captain, he held ECU’s stolen base record from 1959 to the mid 1970s.

He was inducted into Hall of Fame at East Carolina for baseball in 2004.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education – and minoring in Psychology and Social Studies – from ECU, Vaughan began his coaching career at Franklin (Virginia) High School in 1959 and then at Fike High School in Wilson.

He returned to his hometown in 1963, serving as an assistant football coach, basketball coach, and baseball coach back at Ahoskie High School. He became the head football coach and athletic director in 1965. His 1970 team was also unbeaten (12-0-1) and won another Class AA state title.

Tony Doughtie, a 1971 Ahoskie High grad, remembers the 1970 football season very well. He was working part-time at WRCS, the old AM radio station in Ahoskie.

“During the 1970 state semifinal game in Siler City, my dad’s best friend stopped at a gas station in Siler City to gas up,” Doughtie shared. “His car had an Ahoskie license plate on the front. The gas station attendant said y’all must be here to see your team get beat tonight because you know we [Siler City] are 21-point favorites. My dad’s friend noted that while Ahoskie only had 19 players, they play with blood and guts. We won 14-12. That was an Albert Vaughan style team.”

Doughtie further explained the meaning behind the previous sentence.

“Coach Vaughan could take average or below average players and mold them into a team,” Doughtie said. “He was a perfectionist and only the survivalist could make it with him. I am sure every player in football, baseball or basketball who played for him they will tell you that he made them men.”

As the coach for Ahoskie’s American Legion Post 102 baseball team, Vaughan help to mold and shape the career of a future Major League Baseball Hall of Fame player. In 1963, Post 102 captured the Eastern North Carolina championship. Among the players on that team was a big right-handed farm boy from Hertford, NC by the name of James Augustus “Jimmy” Hunter. At age 18, he signed a Major League Baseball contract with the Kansas City Athletics and went on to a professional career as “Catfish” Hunter with the A’s and the New York Yankees, winning five World Series titles between those two clubs, was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Cy Young Award, and was an eight-time Major League All-Star.

Hunter was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.

Later in life, Vaughan served as the president and an owner of Seascape Golf Links Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk where he resided until his death.

Memorial services for Vaughan were held June 29 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Legion Post 102 Baseball, PO Box 177, Ahoskie, NC 27910 or St Thomas Episcopal Church, PO Box 263, Ahoskie, NC 27910 or online by visiting tmcfunding.com/ search fund, type- Albert Vaughan.