Born in Clifty, Arkansas, Vaughan made his major league debut in 1932 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He quickly built a reputation as a superb hitter, batting .318 in his first year, and knocking in over 90 runs in 1933, 1934 and 1935. Over the following decade, he asserted established himself as one of the finest hitting shortstops to ever play the game, batting over .300 in every season through 1941, and regularly being at or near the top of the league in runs scored, RBI, batting average, stolen bases and walks.

Vaughan was traded prior to the 1942 season to the Brooklyn Dodgers and was unable to maintain his high standards of play in his new city, despite leading the league with 20 stolen bases in 1943. Vaughan missed three years before returning in 1947. He played in his only World Series that season, losing to the New York Yankees, and left the majors after the 1948 season. His last year in baseball was 1949 with the PCL's San Francisco Seals. He retired with 1173 runs scored, 96 home runs, 926 RBI, 118 steals, a .318 batting average (the second higher mark for a Hall of Fame shortstop) and a .406 on base percentage. His best personal year came in 1935 when he hit .385 (a 20th century record for National League shortstops) with 19 home runs and 99 RBI.

An avid outdoorsman, Arky loved to fish and hunt. On August 30, 1952, while fishing in Lost Lake, near Eagleville, California, a storm brewed up rather suddenly. Arky and a friend were caught up in the turbulence, the boat sank, and the two men drowned. He was just 40 years old.

Vaughan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.