Chris Nilan

Chris Nilan, American ice hockey player, coach, and radio host

Find birthday twins Open interactive profile

Born: February 9, 1958
Age in 2026: 68
Zodiac sign: Aquarius
Birth year: 1958

About Chris Nilan

Christopher John Nilan (born February 9, 1958) is an American former professional ice hockey player and former radio host. Nilan played 688 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games as a right-wing for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins between 1980 and 1992. He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 with Montreal. Known as "Knuckles" or "Knux", he was famous for his propensity to fight. He holds a record for most penalty minutes by an American-born player. Nilan's life and career are prominently featured in Alex Gibney's 2011 documentary film The Last Gladiators.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Chris Nilan timeline

1980Nilan played 688 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games as a right-wing for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins between 1980 and 1992.
1986He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 with Montreal.

The world when Chris Nilan was born

Chris Nilan was born in 1958. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1958

#1 song"Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno
Top movieGigi
Top TV showGunsmoke
Best-selling bookDoctor Zhivago – Boris Pasternak

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentNFL Championship "Greatest Game Ever Played" — Colts vs Giants
Top headlineNASA created as the United States enters the Space Race
Technology milestoneNASA founded
Defining fadHula Hoops — 25 million sold in 4 months
Notable inventionHula Hoop
World population2.93 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
Also wonSt. Louis Hawks (NBA)
U.S. population174.1M

1958 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Chris Nilan's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1958	2026
Gas	$0.31	$3.45/gal
Average home	$12,750	$435,000
Average income	$6,600	$67,500
Minimum wage	$1.00	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.68	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.04	$0.73
Population	174.1M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, NHL. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.