Sprague Cleghorn

Lore & Background

Cleghorn was born in the Westmount area of Montreal in 1890 to William John and Harriet Isabella (née Ogilvie) Cleghorn. He attended Westmount Academy and played on junior and amateur Montreal Westmount teams until 1909. He was scouted by the Renfrew Creamery Kings and signed a contract, along with his brother Odie, to play with them for the 1910–11 NHA season. During that season, he switched from winger to defence on the advice of his coach, Alf Smith. He developed into an offensive defenceman, frequently rushing the puck forward. With the Montreal Wanderers, he established a reputation as a fierce competitor with an explosive temper. In one game in 1913, he scored five goals against the Toronto Ontarios, and during the 1914–15 season, he led the NHA with 12 assists and also scored 21 goals. He would often retaliate violently against opposing players he felt were taking liberties on his teammates, especially his brother Odie. In 1912, he struck opponent Newsy Lalonde in the back of the head after the latter had cross-checked Odie, for which he was fined and suspended from the league and faced a charge of aggravated assault. In a January 1917 game, he collided with Ken Randall and crashed feet first into the boards, sustaining a broken ankle that ended his season. While recovering later in 1917, he suffered another fall while walking an icy street in Montreal and fractured his other ankle, forcing him to miss the entire 1917–18 season.

Reader's Guide

After the Montreal Arena burned down in 1918, Cleghorn's rights were claimed by Ottawa Senators general manager Tommy Gorman. He played for the Senators in 1918–19 and registered 13 points in 18 games. The next season, he played in a defensive pair with Eddie Gerard and scored 21 points in 21 regular season games. That season, the Senators defeated the Seattle Metropolitans to win the Stanley Cup. In an attempt at league parity, the NHL transferred him to the Hamilton Tigers in December 1920, but Cleghorn refused to report. He eventually signed with the Toronto St. Patricks, playing with them for the regular season, but was released in March after the St. Pats lost the play-offs. He returned to Ottawa during their playoff series in time to be a member of the 1921 Stanley Cup-winning team. Just before the start of the 1921–22 NHL season, Hamilton traded him to the Montreal Canadiens for Harry Mummery and Amos Arbour. On the Canadiens, he was reunited with his brother Odie. He was named captain of the team near the end of his first season. He played alongside Billy Coutu, and the pair established a reputation as one of the most feared defensive pairs in the league. In a 1923 playoff series against his former team, the Ottawa Senators, he struck Senators defenceman Lionel Hitchman in the head with his stick, was charged with aggravated assault, found guilty, and fined $50. The incident enraged Canadiens owner Leo Dandurand, who suspended him from the roster for the remainder of the playoffs. In another incident with the Senators in 1922, he initiated a brawl during which he injured three players, Eddie Gerard, Frank Nighbor, and Cy Denneny. The Ottawa management attempted to have him expelled from the league. In 1923–24, the Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup in the NHL, the third championship of Cleghorn's career. After the following season, Montreal sold him to the Boston Bruins for $5000. He played three seasons with the Bruins and acted as their unofficial captain. In his final season with the Bruins, 1927–28, he also served as an assistant coach. During his time in Boston, he served as a veteran presence on the team and as a mentor to future Hall of Fame defenceman Eddie Shore. After his retirement as a player, he took to coaching, joining the Newark Bulldogs of the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) as a player-manager from 1928 to 1929. He later coached the CAHL's Providence Reds, and in 1931–32 he was named head coach of the NHL's Montreal Maroons. He was hired in 1935 by the Pittsburgh Shamrocks of the International Hockey League (IHL), but was fired near the end of the season over a dispute with club president Ray Babcock over the payment of his salary. His final coaching stint was with the Cornwall Cougars of the Quebec Provincial Hockey League, where he was fired on November 14 after his team went winless in their first six games.

Did You Know?

• Cleghorn was known as 'The Big Train'.
• He was twice charged with assault following on-ice incidents.
• At the time of his retirement, his 169 career goals were second most in professional hockey history by a defenceman, behind Harry Cameron's 173.
• He and his brother Odie each scored 4 goals in a 10–6 victory for the Montreal Canadiens over the Hamilton Tigers on January 14, 1922.