In his first starting assignment, June 3 at Braves Field against the Cincinnati Reds, he held a 2–1 lead into the eighth inning when Cincinnati rallied for three runs;[1] Nichols was saddled with the 4–2 defeat, but he threw a complete game and earned a place in Boston's starting rotation.

His 2.88 earned run average in 156 innings pitched was five-one-hundredths of a point better than Sal Maglie's 2.93, giving Nichols the National League's ERA title.

The Braves released him after the 1957 season, and Nichols spent all of 1958 out of the game working as a bank teller in his native Rhode Island,[3] before getting a successful tryout with the American League Red Sox, Boston's surviving MLB team, who signed him to a minor-league contract for 1959.

Two strong seasons at the Triple-A level resulted in Nichols' promotion to the Red Sox in September 1960.

He returned to the banking field after his playing days, rising into management positions, and in 1977 he played an integral role in helping Rhode Island businessman Ben Mondor purchase the struggling Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League;[3] during his 33-year stewardship, Mondor turned the "PawSox" into a highly successful Triple-A franchise.