Championships. Star players. Brawls. Antics. The Rhode Island Reds story is the stuff of legends, and in this growing archive, we offer up a few of the more memorable and infamous moments in Reds history.
Zellio Toppazzini: The Player of the Century
For a dozen seasons, Topper was the man. Who can ever forget #15 with his long, graceful strides that seemed to produce effortless acceleration … and, of course, his rink-length rushes and never-fail breakaways. Details>>
Johnny Bower's Long, Strange Trip
Johnny Bower took some unusual turns during his trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame, including a detour that brought a championship to Rhode Island and a pair of vintage pads to a young goaltender to the Rhode Island Reds Heritage Society. Details>>
The Rhode Island Reds (un)Official Song
It was wriiten by a Czechoslavakian composer in 1927, carried across France and Germany by the advancing Allied armies, and landed on Miss Vivian's keyboard: The Beer Barrel Polka. Details>>
How 'Our Game' Got Its Start Here in Rhode Island
Hockey in Rhode Island can trace its roots to 1926-27, when the first boys’ high school ice hockey league was formed, containing Cranston, Hope, La Salle and Mount Saint Charles high schools. It was the same year that the Reds took the ice for the first time. Details>>
Longtime followers agree that Christmas night games at the Auditorium were historically wild and unpredictable. The enemy always seemed to play mean spirited, as if they resented having to be on the road. And the Reds, stuffed with home-cooked turkey, played with equal belligerence. Details>>
He was a sloppy skater and couldn't handle the puck without looking down. But for his one season with the Reds, Jean Baptiste Pusie may have been the best show in town . Details>>
When the ball and crane finally (and tragically) brought down this sports relic, the 1111 location was converted into a parking lot for employees of the neighborhood's renowned care center, Miriam Hospital. But today, the site is eerie. Details>>
How the E-22 Landed at the Auditorium
It was in late October 1954 at the old R. I. Auditorium that a future eponym arrived. It was E-22, a new concept in restoring an ice sheet after considerable use. It was among the first ever in the northeast. It wasn't yet called a Zamboni, but rather "an ice resurfacing machine." Details>>
