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. , with brother
Sprague right by his side. The next season, in 1910–11, Odie and Sprague left New York to play with the
Renfrew Creamery Kings of the
National Hockey Association. Cleghorn played ten seasons in the
National Hockey League for the
Montreal Canadiens and
Pittsburgh Pirates. On Jan. 14, 1922, Odie and his brother
Sprague Cleghorn each scored 4 goals in a 10-6 victory for the
Montreal Canadiens over the
Hamilton Tigers. Cleghorn won a
Stanley Cup in
1924 with Montreal. 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. During the
1928 Stanley Cup Final, when
New York Rangers's coach
Lester Patrick had to step in as goalie for an injured
Lorne Chabot, Odie took over Lester's duties as coach behind the Rangers bench for the rest of the game. 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. ==Career statistics==