Prologue | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | Epilogue

The Name

The name “Reds” was chosen by the franchise before the team’s debut. The Providence Journal reported that “favorable comment” was received for the choice.

“The ‘Reds’ is perhaps the most distinctive Rhode Island name that could have been selected, typifying the bird that has probably done more towards making the State famous than any other ‘critter’ except the clam,” the newspaper noted. In addition, the original black, white, and red uniform design worn by the “roosters” was described as “one of the flashiest and neatest garbed arrays on the entire circuit.”

The Logos

Since 1926, and throughout most of their existence, the Reds were identified as “Providence”, its official name, in the league standings.

But Rhode Island is a city/state and the entire region, not just the capital city, considered the team their own. For that reason and the pleasing rhythmic sound that reflected that pride, the more colloquial name of “Rhode Island Reds” was soon adopted by the locals and the press.

The team’s very first logomark on the team sweaters was a very simple presentation of the brand – a circle displaying a primitive rooster silhouette with the word “PROVIDENCE” encasing it below. That logo was used for five years (1927-31) before Judge Dooley acknowledged the public’s preferred reference and substituted “R.I. REDS” to the logo for the next three years (1932-34).

For the following 12 years, the block letters “REDS” were emblazoned along the chest. It wasn’t until 1949 that the team’s most famous logo, the “Raging Rooster”, was born and actually worn for only six years (1949-54) before the Rooster gave way to sweaters displaying only the players’ numbers on the fronts & backs of the sweaters through 1961.

From 1962 though 1969, a diagonal “REDS” returned to the sweaters and then gave way to the shooting rooster symbol in the 1970 season.

With the team’s move to the new Providence Civic Center in 1972, the mark amusingly referred to as the “Kellogg’s Logo” because of its resemblance to that of the cereal brand was created. It accompanied the team through its final 1976-77 campaign when the name of the team was officially changed to “Rhode Island Reds” for that one and only season.

The Leagues

Our Providence (aka Rhode Island) Reds played their first 10 years in the Canadian-American Hockey League (Can-Am), which was established in the fall of 1926 with the considerable effort and influence of Hubert C. Milot, developer of the RI Auditorium where the Reds would play, the Boston Arena’s George V. Brown, and Judge James E. Dooley, a prominent RI attorney with strong political ties and a love of sports. He would own the team and also serve as President of the league for six years.

As the landscape of high minor league hockey evolved and leagues merged, the Reds would continue to play 4 years in the merged International-American Hockey League (I-AHL) and eventually play their final 37 seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL).

The Legacy

Through 51 years, the Rhode Island Reds provided their fans with more disappointments, thrills, heartaches and championships (7 Cups) than many other teams in professional hockey.

From the beginning, the Providence franchise was one of the best in hockey, and Reds fans ranked among the most enthusiastic and loyal in the game.

Early on, without competition from television or televised sports of today such as NHL football, Sunday night at the R. I. Auditorium became “Hockey Night” in Providence. Often, overflow crowds of 6,000 would squeeze into the 5,500-seat “Arena.” To many sports fans, the Reds were the only show in town.

The legacy of the Reds and the many ways they contributed to our State pride is evidenced in the long and successful history of hockey in Rhode Island. That tradition of excellence and the rewards we have reaped for those contributions is recorded through the work of the RI Reds Heritage Society, chroniclers and caretakers of that history saved for future generations.

Pro hockey began in Rhode Island on Dec. 3, 1926, when the Reds played the Springfield Indians of the old Canadian-American League at the Rhode Island Auditorium. Hec Lepine scored the first goal in Reds history but Springfield won the game, 7-1. Fans went home happy, however, as the Reds’ Brick Morrison won the fights and a fisticuffs tradition was born.

Unfortunately, fights were about the only things the Reds won in their first two seasons in the Can-Am League. The team was an assemblage of Montreal Canadiens’ farmhands thanks to Hubert C. Milot, the Auditorium’s developer and college classmate of Leo Dandurand, part owner and GM of Les Habitants.  In 1928-29, things changed when general manager Jean Dubuc talked shifty little Canadiens forward, Johnny Gagnon, into coming to Providence.

With Gagnon, Art Chapman, Gizzy Hart and Leo Gaudreault in their lineup, the Reds finished second to the Boston Tigers in 1928-29. The following year, when young Lou Pieri became their general manager, the Reds went all the way. With Gagnon supplying the offense and goaltender Mickey Murray and Art Lesieur heading the defense, the Reds easily swept past Boston in a five-game series for their first of three Fontaine Cups, symbol of Can-Am supremacy..

After the Reds won the Fontaine Cup in the 1929-30 season, forward Johnny Gagnon and All-Star defenseman Jack McVicar joined the Montreal Canadians, and the Boston Bruins signed Art Chapman.  The result: the Reds faltered to a second-place finish behind Springfield in 1930-31.

But with newcomers Gus Rivers, Art Giroux, Hago Harrington and Sparky Vail in their lineup, the Reds, coached by NHL Hall of Famer, Newsy Lalonde, beat back the Bronx Tigers and Boston Cubs and easily won the Can-Am title again in 1931-32.

The stock market crash of 1929 finally caught up with the businessmen who owned the Auditorium in ’32 and in October, the bank foreclosed on the mortgage.

But on Nov. 1, 1932, Arnold Jones bought the building for $41,000 at a public auction, as he and the late Lou Pieri, Archie Merchant and Malcolm Greene Chace vowed to keep the Reds in action.

Auditorium crowds were lean during the Depression, but the Reds continued to be one of the dominant powers in the Canadian-American League and won the Fontaine Cup again in 1933-34 with such players as George Nichols, Andy Mulligan and goaltender Paddy Byrne in their lineup.

The Can-Am League went bankrupt after the 1935-36 playoffs and was replaced by the American Hockey League. The 1936-37 team included the famed “Kraut Line” of Milt Schmidt, Wood Dumart and Bobby Bauer that would later star with the Bruins. Originally labeled the “Sauerkrauts” by coach Albert “Battleship” Leduc, all three were eventually elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Good as the 1936-37 team was, it finished a disappointing second in its first year in the new circuit and it meant the end of coach Leduc’s tenure and the introduction of a new mentor, Fred “Bun” Cook.

Cook took over the reins in 1938-39 and led the Reds to their first Calder Cup championship. The Reds had little offensive punch, evidenced by the fact that no Providence player finished among the top ten IAHL players in goals, assists or points.

But they did have defensive strength, backed by the brilliant play of rookie goalie Frank Brimsek, who in the entire 48-game season rolled up 5 shutouts, allowing only 86 goals – 1.79 per game – still the lowest ever in AHL’s history. Brimsek later went on to become the Boston Bruin’s “Mr. Zero” and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Reds’ second Calder Cup came in 1939-40 when Mike Karakas, John Doran, Johnny Chad, Gabby Sherwood and Ab DeMarco joined the team. Pittsburgh was the Providence team’s opponent in the final round of the playoffs, as the Reds emerged champions by putting together three straight victories by 4-3 scores.

World War II brought some lean years for owner Lou Pieri as talented players and loyal fans disappeared, many into the service of their countries, and the roster became a revolving door. Following the war the Reds suffered through two more bad seasons before Lou Pieri swung a trade with St. Louis for Carl Liscombe, Harvey Fraser and Rossie Rossignoli. The move changed their fortunes dramatically.

Player-coach Terry Reardon made the deal pay off in 1948-49 as the Reds won their third Calder Cup, defeating Hershey in a great final series after having lost three of the first four games.

Some of the members of that team, ranked by many as the Reds’ greatest, were Ray LaPlante, Jackie Hamilton, Jack McGill, Art Michaluk, Allan Stanley, Chuck Scherza, Johnny Chad and goalie Harvey Bennett, while producing one of the greatest lines in team history: Carl Liscombe, Harvey Fraser and Roger Bedard.

Liscombe won the AHL scoring title with 50 goals, 68 assists and 118 points. And for the second straight year was voted the league’s MVP.

The 1951-52 season was an “almost year” for the Reds. Buried in the cellar at Christmastime, owner Lou Pieri once again pulled off a deal equal to that of his late 40’s steal with St. Louis. Just before New Years Eve 1952, Pieri traded right-winger Jack Stoddard to the New York Rangers for veteran defenseman Pat Egan and forwards Jean Paul Denis and youngster Zellio Toppazzini.

The deal paid off handsomely. The Reds finished a fast second in the Eastern Division, upset Cleveland in the first round, continued to roll past Cincinnati, and in the finals, only because of two sudden-death, overtime defeats in Providence, lost to the mighty Pittsburgh Hornets, four games to two. But the 21-year-old Toppazzini turned out to be the Reds’ prize catch and all-time leading scorer over the next 13 years.

That season also produced another great line: Ray Powell, Barry Sullivan and Paul Gladu. Powell, a slick center, led the AHL in all three scoring departments, 35-62-97. He was also voted the AHL’s MVP and first team All-Star. To this day, many consider Powell the best stick-handler in Reds history.

In 1955-56, with Terry Reardon as general manager, Jack Crawford as coach and Gagnon working as liaison man with the parent New York Rangers, the Reds assembled a powerhouse team, which the Society of International Hockey Research (SIHR) later voted “the greatest minor league hockey team and season in history”.

Johnny Bower and Harvey Bennett were the goaltenders, with Andy Branigan, Bob Robertson, Bill Folk, George McAvoy and Aldo Guidolin formed an impenetrable  defense. Up front were Red Johanson, Ron Attwell and Dusty Blair as centers and wingers Jimmy Bartlett, Bruce Cline, Ray Ross and Buck Davies.

The big offensive punch for the Reds came from the line of Toppazzini, Paul Larivee and Camille “The Eel” Henry. Topper had emerged as a power player and won the AHL’s scoring title that season with 113 points. As the line’s crafty playmaker, Larivee regularly set up both Topper and Henry, his left-winger, who led the league with 50 goals. Bruce Cline captured “Rookie-of-the-Year” honors.

The 1960s turned out to be 10 seasons of up and down performances. Tied into a relationship with the Boston Bruins, the early 60s produced four post-season Calder Cup opportunities for the Reds.

Key players from the Bruins included defensemen Larry Hillman and Matt Ravlich, both of whom later became NHL stars. The Reds were also graced by the Bruins’ assignment of Fernie Flaman, who was named player-coach and then general manager. Flaman today is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Perhaps the biggest star of the early 1960s was a young goaltender named Ed Giacomin, who was owned exclusively by the Reds. Sought by three of the NHL’s six existing teams, he was traded to the New York Rangers for three veteran players. Eddie went onto NHL stardom and was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.

A clever, high-scoring line emerged during that decade. Stan Baluik became set-up center for the popular and effective “B-Line” flanked by the colorful Jimmy Bartlett on left wing and Pierre Brilliant, “The Ramouski Rifle,” to the right. The line consistently pestered and humbled opponents with timely goals.

After a slump in the mid-60s, the Reds rebuilt as an independent team, with little or no help from a NHL affiliation. Many old timers were traded or released and the Reds’ success was revived in 1967-68.

Marcel Paille and Ross Brooks tended goal. The defense was rebuilt with veterans Adam Keller, Moe Mantha, Ray Clearwater and Wayne Muloin. Up front were veterans John Sleaver, Bob Leduc and Jim Mikol.

But player-coach Dave Creighton and his linemates, veteran Eddie Kachur and young Brian Perry, carried most of the offense. The Reds made the playoffs, defeated Springfield in the first round, but were downed in the semi-finals by the Quebec Aces who were stocked with talent from the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. Creighton was named MVP in the AHL and Kachur led the circuit with 47 goals.

The following season the Reds made the playoffs, but an ownership transfer was underway. Legendary owner Louis A. R. Pieri had passed away in 1967 and his estate, led by his son, took over operation of both the team and the slowly deteriorating Auditorium, now in its 42nd year.

Shortly thereafter, George M. Sage, a successful bus line entrepreneur, stepped forward and purchased the building and team. He was an avid hockey enthusiast and a visionary for the redevelopment of downtown Providence. Sage soon was a driving force behind the construction of the Providence Civic Center at LaSalle Square, where the Reds moved to in 1972.

The early 1970s were not kind to minor league hockey. National Hockey League expansion and the emergence of the World Hockey Association decimated the rosters of most American Hockey League teams. Loyal fans, for years accustomed to following teams stocked with fine veteran players and top-notch young prospects, watched as the league evolved strictly into a developmental tool for the NHL. Rosters were now filled mostly with no-name rookies who were constantly being shuffled between parent NHL clubs and their AHL affiliates.

Gone were the familiar faces of veteran players who gained community recognition by serving long terms with the Reds and settling here. Instead, faceless youngsters, who eventually either made it to the big time or were gone from hockey after two or three trial years, replaced longtime local favorites.

Tied in with the expansion California Seals, the Reds finished first in the AHL’s Eastern Division in 1970-71 despite a 28-31-13 record under coach and AHL legend, Larry Wilson. They made a gallant playoff drive, only to be defeated by Springfield in the Calder Cup finals, 4 games to none.

In 1972-73 the Reds moved out of the old R. I. Auditorium to the sparkling new 11,000-seat facility in downtown Providence. Despite the new venue and a promising working agreement with the New York Rangers, fans in the 1970s never really embraced the Civic Center and the new brand of AHL hockey.

Nevertheless, the Reds enjoyed several successful seasons as the farm team of the Rangers. Their second year at the Civic Center produced a second place finish in the AHL’s Eastern Division and a serious push for the Calder Cup. Regrettably, they were defeated the finals by Hershey, 4 games to one. It was the Reds last appearance in the Calder Cup finals.

Right-winger Rick Middleton was a by-product of the 1973-74 campaign. Only 20 then, he dazzled the league with his nifty puck handling and finished seventh in scoring with 36 goals, 48 assists and 84 points. Middleton’s accomplishments earned him All Star recognition and “Rookie-of-the-Year” honors. “Nifty,” as he was later nicknamed, went on to a brilliant career in the NHL.

In 1974-75 the Reds finished first in the Northern Division with an outstanding record of 43-21-12. But they were quickly dispensed by Springfield in the first round of Calder Cup play, four games to two.

When the working agreement with the Rangers terminated in 1975, it sounded the death knoll for the Reds franchise. Operating once again as an independent, the team was officially re-named the Rhode Island Reds under their last owner,  former U.S. Congressman, Robert O. Tiernan. The team finished a distant last in 1976-77. It was the Reds final season. The franchise was sold in 1977 and the team moved to Binghamton (NY) and re-named the Broome Dusters.

The Reds storied 51-year history produced three Can-Am Fontaine Cups, four AHL Calder Cup titles, hundreds of top quality hockey players, thousands of thrills, and millions of wonderful memories for the team’s loyal rooters.

Two drastic changes in the early 1970s seem to have led to the team’s demise – the expansion of the NHL and creation of the WHA, which switched the AHL from a skilled veterans league to a less-talented, youthful development circuit, and the move from the old smoke-filled, leaky-roofed, chicken-wired Auditorium of 5,500 seats to the new, pristine 11,000 seat Civic Center.

Even with 6,000 in attendance, the new Civic Center looked empty and cold in the eyes of longtime Reds’ faithfuls. To them, the ambiance and intimacy of the old Arena could never be duplicated. Neither could the skills of former players to which they had been accustomed.

In 1991 there was a resurgence of AHL hockey locally with the introduction of the Providence Bruins (top farm team of Boston). A new fan base of younger followers has given the franchise a solid support. Crowds of nearly 12,000 now pack what is now known as the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday evenings, known today as “Hockey Night” in Providence.

Yes, AHL hockey is back in Rhode Island. And doing quite well, thank you.