Charles Bird Vaughan, Jr. was born in Ridgewood, N.J. When Vaughan was three years old his family moved to Manchester, Vermont, where his parents became owners of The Red Doors Inn. Vaughan began his skiing career at Bromley Mountain, in the Junior Instructional Ski Program.
Vaughan whose nickname became CB would go to Vermont Academy in Saxon’s River and honed his ski racing skills, captaining the team in his senior year. Vaughan graduated in 1959 and entered St. Lawrence University. His four years at St. Lawrence propelled his racing career. Included in his many victories were several “Skimeister” awards as he competed in all four events (downhill, cross country, jump and slalom) for the Saints. In 1963 he was Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) Champion and was the North American Alpine Champion the same year.
While racing collegiately Vaughan would meet another college ski racer that liked to go fast, Dick Dorworth. Both had aspirations of making the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team so in the summer of 1963 their training took them to Portillo, Chile. While there they participated in the world speed skiing competition. Both men would set a new world record of 106.5 miles-per-hour!
Vaughan’s 1964 Olympics dream was dashed when he finished fifth in the qualification race held at Stowe for the four-man US Olympic Team. So he moved his racing to the European pro circuit where he could race for money. By 1969 CB’s racing career was on the wane, but he wanted to stay in the skiing business. He saw an opportunity in skiwear. In his own words:
”Skiing was very chi-chi, and chic was not appealing to me. I was interested in bringing hard-core, traditional, classic, functional skiwear into the marketplace. I couldn’t accept that just because I was a kid from Vermont, I couldn’t do it.”
Vaughan’s first skiwear venture was the “Super Pant.” The “Super Pant” was insulated warm-up pants that zipped on over stretch pants. Racers loved them and the general skier population followed suit.
Vaughan and his then-wife Roxanne designed the pants, made the pants, and literally drove around Vermont selling them out of their car. This was the beginning of CB Sports, a name that would dominate the skiwear business through the 1970s and 80s.
From the “Super Pant”, CB Sports skiwear would diversify to include parkas, vests, shells, and additional pant styles. These featured common sense innovations such as synthetic zippers, Velcro closures, and high collars – all very popular in cold weather locales such as Vermont. But it wasn’t just function with CB skiwear, it also had a certain fashion. The skiwear was available in a wide range of colors that assured you could be an individual even if there were a lot of CB Sports on the slopes.
As CB Sports expanded, Vaughan designed the clothes and had them made by other companies, but soon those other companies began to steal his ideas. So Vaughan decided to manufacture the clothing himself and the first CB Sports plant was located in an old mill in Bennington. At its peak CB Sports had four manufacturing plants in Vermont and New York employing about 500 people.
There’s an interesting video made in 1985 where Vaughan describes some of the care and innovation that went into the making of CB Sports clothing. It’s available on YouTube and I’ll post a link to it on my blog.
The late 1980s brought economic pressures that forced Vaughan to relinquish control of the company. The CB Sports name would continue under different ownership, but only as retail outlets since the manufacturing units were liquidated. In 2008 the last two retail outlets closed including the one in Bennington.
The CB Sports brand was revived in 2022 as a subsidiary of Vertical Brands, Vaughan was named President of Vertical Brands Special Markets. You can check out their website at www.cbsports.com. CB Sports is a major sponsor and skiwear provider of the also resurrected World Pro Ski Tour.
CB Vaughan, Jr. passed away on January 26, 2025, but the skiing memories associated with his skiwear will live on.
I received a note and picture from Rich Jarrett who still has his CB Sports parka. Rich says, “I still wear my CB jacket which is warmer than some of my technical clothing. Unfortunately the matching pants are history!”
Rick and Nancy Rock from Jeffersonville, Vermont, shared their CB Sports memorabilia
Chuck and Jann Perkins founded the Alpine Shop in Burlington, Vermont, and have great memories of CB! Chuck says:
“Jann and I carried C. B. Sports clothing in the Alpine Shop for all the years that we ran the Shop. The Apollo parka probably paid for the store. It was a short, warm parka that everyone loved.
Jann and I were at a party where Jann got a big hug from C. B. and his name tag came off on Jann. I saw it and we got the biggest laugh, as Jann had been going around wearing C. B.’s name tag all evening.
We have many happy memories of time that we spent with C. B., as we looked at and bought his merchandise for our Alpine Shop.
When C. B. was inducted into the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2013, Jann and I sponsored his Induction.
C. B. was a quality person whom we admired and we will miss very much. We were one of his first customers, when C. B. Started C. B. Sports in 1969. We opened the Alpine Shop in 1963.“
I still welcome input from others who may still have memorabilia from the original CB Sports line.
March 9, 2025 at 5:26 pm
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then there were a number of companies who thought highly of CB when it came to parkas. I had one in the -I believe- the late 70’s – which was styled like the popular CB of the day – mine was red with the horizontal stripe in black across the chest. A local ski shop was selling them. Not sure if they just didn’t have the CB line at the time. As a ski jacket it had the look but not all the function – as I recall the CB had venting under the stripe and maybe in the pits (correct me if I’m wrong). It’s funny how the “hot” brand of ski apparel would change every few years. Obermeyer, Bogner, White Stag, Roffe, Gerry, Descente, Helly Hansen, Columbia and on and on – all seemed to have their time as the trendy one to have.