Hockey Heroes: Frank Nighbor

"The Flying Dutchman." "The Pembroke Peach." Frank Nighbor had many nicknames. That was because he was one of the most creative geniuses ever to play the game.

Newspaper archives heap generous adjectives on Nighbor. "An effortless skater," he was "a marvel of physical endurance" who often played the entire game without a rest. He was "a crafty and unselfish playmaker" (when he retired he was the NHL's all time leader in assists) and also, when needed, "a flashy goal scorer." With his famed poke check he embraced the defensive side of the game with equal zeal. "One of the brainy greats of the game" was quite possibly the most complete and "peerless" player in hockey in his era. The great Howie Morenz even once said, "I won the (Hart Trophy) but Nighbor is the greatest player in hockey."

Here's how Frank Selke described Nighbor in the Montreal Gazette in 1962:

With all due respect to the many wonderful players who have come and gone since 1900, there are few who could be rated above Frank Nighbor. Someone once called him the "peerless centre," and I can think of no label which would have been more apt. We always felt he could have played a complete game of hockey in formal attire without even putting a wrinkle in his suit. He was a leading scorer, an expert passer and a playmaker; and no rival forward could come close to him in defensive skill. Along with Jack Walker he developed the poke-check to such an extent that his contemporaries were forced to revamp completely their style of play in order to cope with him.

Born in Pembroke, Ontario, Nighbor started his professional hockey career with the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (predecessor to the NHL). He would join the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey League for a couple of seasons, getting his first taste of champaign from Lord Stanley's mug in 1915. The next season he returned home (partly to tend to his ailing mother), joining the Ottawa Senators. He would remain an integral part of the Senators until 1928. He played one final season with Toronto in 1929.

Nighbor is best known as an Ottawa Senator. He played on Stanley Cup championship teams in 1920, 1921, 1923, and 1927. He was also the initial winner of two of the games greatest trophies: The Hart (1924) for Most Valuable Player; and the Lady Byng (1925 and 1926) for gentlemanly play and sportsmanship.

Nighbor was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1945. He concentrated on his insurance business until retiring in 1961. He died of cancer in Pembroke in 1966.

The Flying Dutchman: Frank Nighbor

Newspaper archives heap generous adjectives on Frank Nighbor, one of the game's early greats.

"An effortless skater," he was "a marvel of physical endurance" who often played the entire game without a rest. He was "a crafty and unselfish playmaker" (when he retired he was the NHL's all time leader in assists) and also, when needed, "a flashy goal scorer." With his famed poke check he embraced the defensive side of the game with equal zeal. "One of the brainy greats of the game" was quite possibly the most complete and "peerless" player in hockey in his era. The great Howie Morenz even once said, "I won the (Hart Trophy) but Nighbor is the greatest player in hockey."

Here's how Frank Selke described Nighbor in the Montreal Gazette in 1962:

With all due respect to the many wonderful players who have come and gone since 1900, there are few who could be rated above Frank Nighbor. Someone once called him the "peerless centre," and I can think of no label which would have been more apt. We always felt he could have played a complete game of hockey in formal attire without even putting a wrinkle in his suit. He was a leading scorer, an expert passer and a playmaker; and no rival forward could come close to him in defensive skill. Along with Jack Walker he developed the poke-check to such an extent that his contemporaries were forced to revamp completely their style of play in order to cope with him.

Here is the full Frank Nighbor biography.

Frank Nighbor: Hockey's Gliding Ghost

"The Flying Dutchman." "The Pembroke Peach." Frank Nighbor had many nicknames. That was because he was one of the most creative geniuses ever to play the game.

Newspaper archives heap generous adjectives on Nighbor. "An effortless skater," he was "a marvel of physical endurance" who often played the entire game without a rest. He was "a crafty and unselfish playmaker" (when he retired he was the NHL's all time leader in assists) and also, when needed, "a flashy goal scorer." With his famed poke check he embraced the defensive side of the game with equal zeal. "One of the brainy greats of the game" was quite possibly the most complete and "peerless" player in hockey in his era. The great Howie Morenz even once said, "I won the (Hart Trophy) but Nighbor is the greatest player in hockey."

Here's how Frank Selke described Nighbor in the Montreal Gazette in 1962:

With all due respect to the many wonderful players who have come and gone since 1900, there are few who could be rated above Frank Nighbor. Someone once called him the "peerless centre," and I can think of no label which would have been more apt. We always felt he could have played a complete game of hockey in formal attire without even putting a wrinkle in his suit. He was a leading scorer, an expert passer and a playmaker; and no rival forward could come close to him in defensive skill. Along with Jack Walker he developed the poke-check to such an extent that his contemporaries were forced to revamp completely their style of play in order to cope with him.

Here's the full Frank Nighbor biography

Defensive Strategies Always Controversial

Neutral zone traps. Clutching, grabbing and other obstruction. Line matching and shadows.

These are forms of the modern defensive game that drawn the ire of hockey pundits and hockey fans over the years.

But complaining about defensive strategies clogging up the fastest game on ice is nothing new. Check out this 1932 article from the Calgary Daily Herald. Not only does author Jimmy Thompson pay homage to the early defensive forwards of hockey, but he argues their style of hockey should become extinct:

Not only are the real masters of the hookcheck passing from hockey but there are some critics who think that it should be abolished altogether from the game. While it may be one of the most devastating weapons for breaking up scoring plays yet, in the opinion of one writer, "it contributes to much centre-ice play which is far from entertaining for the spectator."

The point seems to be that long arms and longer sticks, rather than hockey intelligence and ability, are requisites for its success. Don't confuse the poke check with the hook check. The poke-check can be used effectively only against the puck carrier. The ice-sweeping hook check, first mastered by Frank "Dutch" Nighbor, present manager of the Buffalo Bisons, is a wide swing which often attains a radius of 18 feet. It harasses not only the puck carrier, but the wing men who may be in a position to receive a pass.

The hook check has been made of late years by players on their knees. It rather tends to slow up the game. Nighbor is through as an active player, so is Jack Walker who is credited with its invention. "Hooley" Smith is adept at the sweeping check, but the best in the business today is "Pit" Lepine of the Canadiens. When he sets himself out to play a straight defensive game, Lepine is almost impossible to pass.

Obviously this exact tactic no longer is in practice. Perhaps it is because of rules permitting forward passing or the increasingly common practice of the saucer pass. Essentially what the early stars such as Walker, Nighbor, Smith and Lepine did was their own version of the neutral zone trap.

Great Hockey Nicknames: The Pembroke Peach

"The Flying Dutchman." "The Pembroke Peach." Frank Nighbor had many nicknames. That was because he was one of the most creative geniuses ever to play the game.

Newspaper archives heap generous adjectives on Nighbor. "An effortless skater," he was "a marvel of physical endurance" who often played the entire game without a rest. He was "a crafty and unselfish playmaker" (when he retired he was the NHL's all time leader in assists) and also, when needed, "a flashy goal scorer." With his famed poke check he embraced the defensive side of the game with equal zeal. "One of the brainy greats of the game" was quite possibly the most complete and "peerless" player in hockey in his era. The great Howie Morenz even once said, "I won the (Hart Trophy) but Nighbor is the greatest player in hockey."


Read the full Frank Nighbor biography.

The Pembroke Peach

This is Frank Nighbor, the legendary "Pembroke Peach."

He played on Stanley Cup championship teams in 1920, 1921, 1923, and 1927. He was also the initial winner of two of the games greatest trophies: The Hart (1924) for Most Valuable Player; and the Lady Byng (1925 and 1926) for gentlemanly play and sportsmanship.

Because he was so gentlemanly he almost instantly became Lady Byng's favorite player. Lady Byng was the wife of Canada's Governor General, the Queen's representative in Canada. She was so impressed with Nighbor's clean play and sportsmanship she had the trophy for the most gentlemanly player made.

Because he played back in the 1920s every picture of Nighbor is in black and white. It's a shame, as these orange, black and white sweaters are quite something to see.

For more than a few thousand dollars you can show off Nighbor's colorful 1927-28 sweater in your hockey den. ClassicAuctions.net has an authenticated game-worn Nighbor sweater for sale. The going price was nearing $15,000 when I published this article.

It really is an amazing collectible. It is an wool uniform with a felt and chain-stich shield proclaiming "World Champs 1926-27," referencing the team's Stanley Cup championship the previous season. There is only one other authenticated vintage Ottawa Senators sweater known to exist, also a Nighbor original.