Thomas Robert Vaughn (February 28, 1943 – July 5, 2020) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Iowa State and as a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1965 to 1971. Vaughn was born in 1943 at Troy, Ohio. He attended Troy High School where he was a high school All-American. After missing much of the 1971 season due to a head injury, Vaughn announced his retirement in June 1972. He said at the time that he had been knocked out 20 times and was tired of it. Vaughn died in 2020 at age 77.