Sprague Cleghorn
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Sprague Horace "Peg" Cleghorn, (March 11, 1890 – July 12, 1956), was a Canadian professional hockey player who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Wanderers, Toronto St. Pats, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators.
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[edit] Playing career
Born in Montreal, Cleghorn had a hall of fame career but was regarded as one of the dirtiest players of his era. He played on Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1920, 1921 and 1924.
In 1909–10, Cleghorn began his professional career with the New York Wanderers, moving to Renfrew of the National Hockey Association the next season. He then played for the Montreal Wanderers for six seasons. He played defence for the Ottawa Senators (1918 to 1920). The league transferred him to the Hamilton Tigers in December 1920, but Cleghorn refused to report. His rights were traded to the Toronto St. Pats, but Cleghorn still wouldn't leave Ottawa. The Senators asked that he be allowed to return to their team. George Kennedy, owner of the Montreal Canadiens, threatened to have Ottawa thrown out of the league. Cleghorn did play for Toronto, but was released in March and signed with Ottawa during the playoffs.
The league again transferred Cleghorn to Hamilton in 1921, and again he refused to go. Just before the start of the 1921–22 NHL season, Sprague was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Harry Mummery and Amos Arbour. He played four seasons in Montreal and after the 1924–25 NHL season, was purchased by the Boston Bruins for $5,000. Sprague played his final three seasons in the NHL with Boston (1925 to 1928). He then moved to the minor-league Newark Bulldogs (1928–29) as a player-coach. Later, he coached the CAHL Providence Reds (1930–31) and NHL Montreal Maroons (1931–32). He later coached the Pittsburgh Shamrocks of the International Hockey League (1935–36) and the Cornwall Cougars of the Quebec league (1947–48).
Even in an era of rough play, Cleghorn was notorious for being among the dirtiest of the lot, and ranked amongst the league leaders in penalty minutes for nine of the first ten seasons of the NHL's history. In 1923, Cleghorn hit Ottawa Senators player Lionel Hitchman in the head with his stick. Charged with aggravated assault, Cleghorn was found guilty and fined $50.
Cleghorn was hit by a car in early June 1956, and died of his injuries at Montreal's St. Luc Hospital on July 12, 1956. His funeral was July 14, 1956 and he was buried at Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal. Cleghorn's brother, Odie Cleghorn, was found dead in his bed just hours before the funeral, as a result of heart failure, perhaps induced by the stress of the loss of his brother.
[edit] Awards & achievements
- 1958 – Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
- In 1998, he was ranked number 88 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
[edit] Career NHL statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1918–19 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 18 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 27 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1919–20 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 21 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 62 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1920–21 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1920–21 | Toronto St. Patricks | NHL | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 26 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1921–22 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 24 | 17 | 7 | 24 | 63 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1922–23 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 24 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 34 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1923–24 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 23 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 39 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1924–25 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 27 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 82 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1925–26 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 28 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1926–27 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 44 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 84 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1927–28 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 26 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 251 | 84 | 39 | 123 | 489 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
[edit] See also
- Violence in ice hockey
- List of NHL seasons
- List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
- List of NHL players
[edit] External links
- Sprague Cleghorn's biography at Legends of Hockey
- Career Statistics
- Obituary
- Sprague Cleghorn at findagrave.com
| Preceded by Newsy Lalonde |
Montreal Canadiens captains 1922-25 |
Succeeded by Billy Coutu |
