It’s Friday night during the high school football season. Even more so, it’s the day of the Ironton-Ashland game.

Bob Vaughn is smiling.

Vaughn — who died Monday following a bout with cancer — loved Ironton football and he loved the cross-river rivalry.

Last year when Ironton was playing Nelsonville-York in a game that would make Bob Lutz the all-time winningest coach in Ohio high school football history, Vaughn suffered a heart attack before the start of the game. After getting medical treatment in the stands, Vaughn didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay and see the game and the celebration.

Bob was a good friend to me, but he was an even greater friend to Ironton. He loved this town, and I mean LOVED it.

When he served on city council, he decided the city needed a podium for its meetings. He didn’t make a motion to buy one. He made hit himself and he was a master carpenter. He gave it to the city and it’s still in use.

The new dialysis center in downtown Ironton was due to the efforts of Bob. His father, Jocko Vaughn, was taking dialysis and Bob told the doctors they needed to look into putting a center in Ironton and he kept nudging them until it became a reality.

But Bob was always looking ahead. While on city council, he urged the mayor and council members to purchase some property that was for sale in the Haverhill area. They thought Bob’s idea was a little crazy.

Yeah, it’s the same property where Sun Coke and Rumpke now operate.

When it came to Ironton athletics, there wasn’t anything Bob wouldn’t do for the kids. He filmed games for coaches and parents. He took pictures and gave them away.

The streets of Ironton are dotted with hometown hero signs. The first one was George McAfee. It was Bob’s idea to put up the signs and he purchased the first one himself.

Bob also thought a lot of Glenn Presnell and was instrumental in the organization of Glenn Presnell Day held at Ohio University. He had great respect for Bob Lutz, Mike Burcham and Mark Snyder and he really loved the Memorial Day Parade.

There were times when I needed help and Bob would offer his services. He would give anyone the shirt of his back and it didn’t matter who they were. He had a heart as big as the sky.

While Bob had a love for football and basketball, a lot of people don’t remember he was a pretty darn good pitcher for the Ironton baseball team.

When I worked at Bob Linn Sporting Goods, he would come in all excited and talking about the game he just pitched. I used to kid him and call him “candy arm,” and he got a kick out of that until the day he died. And believe me, I was kidding. He had a pretty good gun.

So when they kick off the game Friday night, I’ll be thinking of Bob Vaughn watching from the penthouse and flashing that smile of his.

After all, this is the town and team he loved.

We’ll miss you, candy arm.

—— Sinatra ——

Jim Walker is sports editor of The Ironton Tribune.