Arthur Francis Nichols (born Arthur Francis Meikle) (July 14, 1871 – August 9, 1945) was a catcher, first baseman, and outfielder in Major League Baseball. Nichols primarily played as a backup. Offensively, his best batting average year was in 1898, his rookie season, with the Chicago Orphans where he batted .286 with a slugging percentage of .310, although he did only play in 14 games, all at catcher. The following year his average dropped to .255 but his slugging improved to .362. He played in 17 games that year (15 at catcher, two as a Pinch hitter). In 1900, still with the Orphans, he played in eight games as catcher, batting .200 and slugging .200. Not much is known as to whether he was traded to the St.Louis or if he signed because of free agency (which is very unlikely due to the R