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Sprague Horace "Peg" Cleghorn, (March 11, 1890,
Montreal, PQ, - July 12, 1956, Montreal, PQ), was
a skilled ice hockey player for teams in the
National Hockey League (NHL) and CAHL who turned
in a Hockey Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame career but
was widely regarded as one of the dirtiest players
of his era. 

He played on Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1919-20
NHL season|1920, 1920-21 NHL season|1921 and
1923-24 NHL season|1924. In 1909-10, Cleghorn
began his career with the New York Wanderers,
moving to Renfrew of the NHA the next season. He
then played for the Montreal Wanderers for six
seasons. He played Defenceman (hockey)|defence for
the Ottawa Senators (1918 to 1921), Toronto St.
Pats (1920-21), and Montreal Canadiens (1921 to
1923). After the 1924-25 NHL season, the Boston
Bruins bought him from the Canadiens for $5000.
Sprague played his final three seasons in the NHL
with Boston (1925 to 1928). He then moved to the
minor-league Newark Bulldogs (1928 to 1929).
Later, he coached the CAHL Providence Reds (1930
to 1931) and NHL Montreal Maroons (1931 to 1932). 

Just before the start of the 1921-22 NHL season,
Sprague and teammate Billy Coutu were traded to
the Hamilton Tigers as part of the NHL's first
multi-player trade. Sprague and Coutu were traded
for Harry Mummery, Amos Arbour and Cully Wilson. 

Even in an era of rough play, Cleghorn was
notorious for being among the dirtiest of the lot,
and ranked amongst the league leaders of penalty
minutes 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 June 20, 1956. His funeral was July
14, 1956 and he was buried at Mount Royal Cemetery
in Montreal, PQ. Sprague 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.

Sprague Cleghorn was inducted into the Hockey Hall
of Fame in 1958.

== See Also ==
* NHL Violence
* List of NHL seasons
* List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
* List of NHL players

== External Links ==
Career Statistics:
http://www.bruins-legends.com/C/cleghorn.htm

Obituary:
http://www.losthockey.com/obit_main.cfm?letter=c

Grave site:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&G
Rid=7950757&pt=Sprague%20%27Peg%27%20Cleghorn

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succession box | before = Newsy Lalonde | title =
Montreal Canadiens#Team captains|Montreal
Canadiens captains| years = 1922-1925 | after =
Billy Coutu
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