A few decades ago, Norm Rosa's schedule would have looked something like this: R.I. Reds hockey, then a Celtics basketball game, then the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, the rock music of the Grateful Dead, a Rocky Marciano boxing bout, the graceful spins and jumps of the Ice Capades, the rough action of Roller [...]
For five decades, the RI Auditorium at 1111 North Main Street in Providence was the epicenter of RI hockey and home of the revered RI Reds. Throughout the mid 20th century, dozens of youngsters who grew up in proximity to the Arena, as it was called, became known as “rink rats”. Most hung around doing [...]
The story of the birth of the RI Auditorium and that of the Providence (RI) Reds began nearly 100 years ago with local businessman and hockey enthusiast Hubert C. Milot. Born in New Bedford, Hubert’s family moved to Providence, where he was educated at LaSalle Academy. He attended university at St. Mary’s College in Montreal. [...]
In 1926, the opening of the new RI Auditorium and the state’s first indoor ice surface heralded a bright new era for RI hockey. Until then, hockey in the Ocean State was played on frozen ponds and rivers, subject to the whims of the weather. Now, indoor artificial ice generated an explosion of interest in [...]
Former Hope High School hockey great Tommy “Woody” Woodcock was the original medical trainer of the NHL’s St Louis Blues. He worked for the club for its first 16 seasons. A 3-time All-Stater at Hope, he came from a highly-accomplished hockey family that included brothers Eddie and Rollie. Tom enjoyed a brief pro career in [...]
In 1965, following what can only be described as an embarrassing showing by the US hockey team at the 1964 Games, New England took what many believe was one of the first real steps in drawing up the successful blueprint we have today for developing the best talent and teams to compete on the world [...]
John Zifcak was the eldest of Phillip and Frances Zifcak's sons. With ten siblings to help take care of, he didn't have a lot of time for sports, but was athletic enough to join the Rhode Island State Police where he had distinguished career, retiring as a Lieutenant specializing in arson investigation and then being [...]
Four years before the outbreak of World War I, Phillip Zifcak emigrated from the Slovakian region of the teetering Austro-Hungarian Empire. His wife to be, Frances, followed two years later. They met working in a textile mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, married, and soon welcomed the first of 13 children. Phillip and Frances moved to neighboring [...]
Over the years, Rhode Island has captured 10 USA national hockey titles. Its first came in 1948, at a time when USA Hockey was known as AHAUS, the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States. That year, the Rhode Island Scarlets captured the “Memorial Cup”, the trophy of the US National Seniors Championships, by defeating [...]
Bob Ricci's done all right for himself. The 62-year-old Pawtucket native lives in California, working as a Strategic Account Manager for the Industrial Division of Sherwin-Williams Paint. It's a good job with an important company that has commercial and retail customers around the globe. Maybe it's not what you dream of as a kid, but [...]
