Born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, he threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg).

[1] He earned a promotion all the way to the National League Pirates, where he appeared in three games as a relief pitcher between July 30 and August 4, 1926, but posted a poor 8.22 ERA.

Nichols was drafted by another contending club, John McGraw's New York Giants, that off-season, but 1928 turned out to be the worst season of his major league career.

He made the only five starts of his big-league career, and on June 17 recorded his only complete game and only victory in a major league uniform, defeating the Pirates 5–4 at the Baker Bowl, going all ten innings on the mound.

However, his son, Chet Jr. (1931–1995), would enjoy a degree of success during his nine-season MLB pitching career (1951, 1954–1956, and 1960–1964), winning 34 games and, as a rookie, becoming the 1951 earned run average champion of the National League.