James Albert Ogilvie "Odie" Cleghorn (September 19, 1891 – July 13, 1956) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, linesman and referee. His brother Sprague Cleghorn also played professional ice hockey and the two played several seasons together.
Ice hockey career
Odie Cleghorn came up through the ranks of the Montreal Westmount of the intermediate section of the CAHL, where he played alongside his older brother Sprague and future Hockey Hall of Fame referee Cooper Smeaton. For the 1909–10 season the trio left for New York to play for the New York Wanderers of the American Amateur Hockey League, finishing second in the league standing behind the New York Athletic Club. Although the Brooklyn Daily Eagle praised Cleghorn after the season as "one of the best right wings that ever has played on a New York team", the newspaper also brought criticism over his rough play "that kept him with the timers for long sessions in every contest.[1]
Odie Cleghorn, at far right in the front row, with the 1910 New York Wanderers, with brother Sprague right by his side.
Cleghorn was also a coach of the Pirates. It was during the 1925–26 season that he created the idea of set lines. He would play three set lines that would rotate. Before this, the players would only rest when needed.
Cleghorn refereed for a time in the NHL. He was the referee at Boston Garden during the infamous December 12, 1933 game in which Boston's Eddie Shore severely injured Toronto's Irvine (Ace) Bailey, fracturing his skull and nearly killing him. Cleghorn was severely criticized by hockey writers for his lenient handling of the volatile game.
Odie Cleghorn's brother Sprague Cleghorn died of injuries following a car accident. Just a few hours before Sprague's July 14, 1956 funeral, Odie Cleghorn, was found in his bed, dead of heart failure, perhaps induced by the stress of the loss of his brother.
