Julius Francis Joseph Nighbor (January 26, 1893 – April 13, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played primarily for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL). He also played for the Toronto Blueshirts of the NHA, Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), and Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL. Nighbor won the Stanley Cup once with the Millionaires and four times with the Senators. He was also known as the "Pembroke Peach",
Nighbor was a defensive forward known for his poke checking, back checking, and body checking which limited opposing forwards' scoring attempts. Although he received relatively high penalty totals, he was a clean player and was one of the last 60-minute hockey players. In recognition of his contributions on the ice, Nighbor became the first player to be awarded both the Hart Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy.
Playing career
thumb|left|250px|Nighbor, seated at far right, with the 1910–11 Pembroke Debaters. [[Harry Cameron is seated at far left.]]
Frank Nighbor began his career with the Pembroke Debaters in his hometown of Pembroke, playing in the Upper Ottawa Valley Hockey League (UOVHL) in 1910–11. While playing in the UOVHL Nighbor won the Citizen Shield, as champions of the Ottawa Valley, after Pembroke defeated Vankleek Hill 10 goals to 8 on March 1, 1911.
Nighbor first played professionally for the Port Arthur Bearcats of the Northern Ontario Hockey League (NOHL) in 1911. Fellow Pembroke native Harry Cameron was invited to play for Port Arthur but refused to go without Nighbor. The club agreed to bring Nighbor along, but they left him on the bench until injuries gave him an opportunity to play. He made the most of his opportunity by registering six goals in his first appearance. A year earlier, he had been the first winner of the Hart Trophy. and she presented it personally to him. The February 25, 1916, issue of the Ottawa Citizen claimed that Nighbor, up to that point in his career, had never taken a major penalty and that most of his fouls were tripping penalties or accidental fouls related to his famous poke check.
Nighbor spent the majority of his playing career as a centre forward, but early on in his professional career, while with the Toronto Blueshirts and the Vancouver Millionaires, he was also deployed as a left winger.
Outside of his strong stick techniques Nighbor also had good speed, and when the Ottawa Senators were at the top of the hockey world in the early 1920s they were known as a strong third-period threat who would run on all cylinders for all 60 minutes. Seattle Metropolitans star forward Frank Foyston gave high praise to Nighbor and the Senators after the 1920 Stanley Cup Final, where the Senators won the deciding fifth game of the series 6 goals to 1 after having scored five unanswered goals in the third period. Foyston said Nighbor had the Seattle forward line "demoralized with his speed and poke check."
Post-playing career
Nighbor coached the Buffalo Bisons and London Tecumsehs of the International League and the New York Rovers of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League. He would later turn to an insurance business he was a partner in and run it until he became ill. In March 2010, at a Quebec auction, an American collector paid $33,000 USD to secure Nighbor's game-worn Ottawa Senators sweater from the 1926–27 season. A street in Ottawa's Kanata neighbourhood is named in memory of Nighbor - "Frank Nighbor Place."
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Regular season
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1910–11
| Pembroke Debaters
| UOVHL
| 6 || 6 || 4 || 10 || 3 || 2 || 6 || 2 || 8 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1911–12
| Port Arthur Bearcats
| NOHL
| 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 9 || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1912–13
| Toronto Blueshirts
| NHA
| 19 || 23 || 2 || 25 || 13 || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1912–13
| NHA All-Stars
| Exh.
| 5 || 6 || – || 6 || – || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1913–14
| Vancouver Millionaires
| PCHA
| 11 || 10 || 5 || 15 || 6 || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1914–15
| Vancouver Millionaires
| PCHA
| 17 || 23 || 7 || 30 || 12 || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1914–15
| Vancouver Millionaires
| St-Cup
| — || — || — || — || — || 3 || 4 || 6 || 10 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1915–16
| Ottawa Senators
| NHA
| 23 || 19 || 5 || 24 || 26 || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1916–17
| Ottawa Senators
| NHA
| 19 || 41 || 10 || 51 || 24 || 2 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1917–18
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 10 || 11 || 8 || 19 || 6 || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1918–19
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 18 || 19 || 9 || 28 || 27 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 3
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1919–20
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 23 || 26 || 15 || 41 || 18 || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1919–20
| Ottawa Senators
| St-Cup
| — || — || — || — || — || 5 || 6 || 1 || 7 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1920–21
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 24 || 19 || 10 || 29 || 10 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 4 || 2
|-
| 1920–21
| Ottawa Senators
| St-Cup
| — || — || — || — || — || 5 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1921–22
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 20 || 8 || 10 || 18 || 4 || 2 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 4
|-
| 1922–23
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 22 || 11 || 7 || 18 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1922–23
| Ottawa Senators
| St-Cup
| — || — || — || — || — || 6 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 10
|-
| 1923–24
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 20 || 11 || 6 || 17 || 16 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1924–25
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 26 || 5 || 5 || 10 || 18 || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1925–26
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 35 || 12 || 13 || 25 || 40 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1926–27
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 38 || 6 || 6 || 12 || 26 || 6 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 0
|-
| 1927–28
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 42 || 8 || 5 || 13 || 46 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1928–29
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 30 || 1 || 4 || 5 || 22 || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1929–30
| Ottawa Senators
| NHL
| 19 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1929–30
| Toronto Maple Leafs
| NHL
| 22 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 2 || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1931–32
| Buffalo Bisons
| IHL
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHA totals
! 61 !! 83 !! 17 !! 100 !! 63 !! 2 !! 1 !! 1 !! 2 !! 6
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | St-Cup totals
! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! 19 !! 11 !! 9 !! 20 !! 18
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 349 !! 139 !! 98 !! 237 !! 249 !! 20 !! 4 !! 9 !! 13 !! 13
|}
Achievements
- Stanley Cup – 1915 (with Vancouver), 1920, 1921, 1923, 1927 (with Ottawa)
- Hart Trophy – 1924
- Lady Byng Trophy – 1925, 1926
- NHA scoring leader – 1916–17
Notes
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