Like Father Like Son
Rarely do you get to follow in your father's footsteps, even more when you almost duplicate it. Such was the story of two pitchers, Chet Nichols Sr. and his son Chet Nichols Jr., who traveled similar paths on the diamond. Chet Sr. was born in Woonsocket and attended Woonsocket High. Upon graduating he led his team team to back to back state championships (1916-17) and was First Team All-State each year. He would go on to enjoy a 7 year Major League career with 3 clubs. He started with the New Haven Profs in the Eastern League in 1925 and was called up briefly in 1926 and 1927 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He moved to the New York Giants organization and played in the International League with the Montreal Royals earning a call up in both campaigns. From 1930-32 he spent his final three seasons in the Majors with the Philadelphia Phillies. His only full season in the Big Leagues was 1931. He pitched mostly in the American Association with the St. Paul Saints in 1930 and 1932.
However he got drafted in to the army and reported to Fort Lee, Virginia. When he returned to the Braves in 1954, the team was now based in Milwaukee. After two lackluster performances in early 1956, Nichols was demoted to the minor leagues to Triple-A Wichita Braves and Double A for the Atlanta Crackers. He experienced shoulder issues in 1957 and spent the entire season in Wichita and the Austin Senators in the Double-A Texas League.
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Nichols Jr. was born in Pawtucket and attended Pawtucket East High. He continued his father's legacy as a pitcher and First Team All-State in his junior and senior seasons (1947-48). He helped them to the league championship as a senior while leading the state in shutouts and strikeouts. He struck out 162 batters in the 10 games, including one in which he struck out 23. In 1948, Chet Jr. was signed by the Boston Braves and assigned to the minor-league Evansville Braves in the Class-B Three-I League. Nichols jumped to Triple A, pitching for the American Association’s Milwaukee Brewers. Nichols made the Braves in 1951 and he impressed immediately. His year-end record was 11-8, with 12 complete games, 3 shutouts and a league-leading 2.88 ERA.
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Before the 1958 season began, Nichols was released by the Braves and was out of baseball before signing a contract with the Minneapolis Millers, the Boston Red Sox’ Triple-A team in 1959. After the season, however, his contract was sold to Vancouver Mounties before being named the 1960 Pitcher of the Year in the Pacific Coast League at season's end. The Red Sox repurchased his contract and he appeared in six games before the end of the year. Nichols stuck with the Red Sox for the next three seasons, 1961 through 1963. He tried to hook on with the Cincinnati Reds in 1964 but was released in April after 3 outings and retired to a career in banking.
