A gifted passer, Vest held the Buccaneer record for most passes completed in a single game for years.
After leaving East Tennessee State, Vest coached high school football and turned out a 9–0–1 record with a St. Paul, Virginia team which had only 17 players on the entire squad.
After coaching football at Hanes High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he became an executive in the insurance department of Wachovia and devoted much time to officiating.
During a Monday Night Football game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles in November 1970, Vest wore bright blue gloves which were easily visible to the television audience.
That game is more memorable, however, for the antics in the broadcast booth, where Howard Cosell threw up on Don Meredith's boots and had to leave Franklin Field at halftime.