For years the Rhode Island Reds of the American Hockey League resided at 1111 North Main St. in Providence. Inside the Rhode Island Auditorium, Reds teams built a proud tradition of hockey success.

But for the last 15 years the Rhode Island Reds have had a different home: 14 Hillside Ave., Barrington.

Inside the handsome 100-year-old home, Sylvester "Buster" Clegg manages the Rhode Island Reds Heritage Society. More specifically, inside a basement office at his home Mr. Clegg produces Reds Society newsletters, keeps in contact with former Reds players, and continues to organize Reds reunions and other events.

"This is the galactic headquarters" of the Reds, Mr. Clegg joked. "Every day I come down here and put in a couple of hours."

Mr. Clegg does not receive a paycheck for his work. He does it because he loves the Reds.

Back in 1959, Mr. Clegg graduated from the University of New Hampshire, where he was co-captain of the hockey team, and began searching for a job. He eventually found himself standing inside the old Rhode Island Auditorium where he met Louis Pieri, the late owner of the Reds.

"I told him I played for Tom Eccleston at Burrillville High School," said Mr. Clegg, recalling the revered Broncos ice hockey coach. It was not long before Mr. Pieri hired Mr. Clegg to work for the Reds, serving in a variety of capacities for the minor league hockey team.

He sold advertising for the Reds' program. He helped as a promoter for the team. And eventually he was hired as general manager.

"He knew that I knew the game," said Mr. Clegg of the team's owner, Mr. Pieri.

Under Mr. Clegg's leadership, the Reds went from a 13-win season to 30 wins and a spot in the AHL playoffs. The team also acquired a number of top-notch players — both younger players and some seasoned veterans.

Mr. Clegg still remembers his time with the Reds fondly.

While sitting behind a desk cluttered with stacks of papers and hockey memorabilia in his basement office, the longtime Barrington resident pointed out Reds star players pictured on a poster that hung on a nearby wall. He called out their names and immediately shared highlights of their careers.

Mr. Clegg also quickly remembers decades-old conversations and negotiations with some of hockey's biggest names, including Eddie Shore, a four-time winner of the NHL's Hart Trophy during his playing days; and Scott Bowman, a longtime NHL coach who holds the record for the most wins in league history.

"I had dinner with Scott Bowman," said Mr. Clegg, recalling that their discussion was centered on the sale of Don McKenney's contract from the St. Louis Blues to the RI Reds.

He recalled stories that only the Reds GM would know, including one about a Reds road trip. Buster said he was in his motel room late one night when the phone rang — it was the front desk clerk. The clerk said he was receiving noise complaints for one of the players' rooms.

Buster thanked the clerk and then called the room. "I told them I was coming up to the room in 15 minutes and if anyone other than the two men assigned to the room was there, everyone on the team was getting fined $200," he said. "Two hundred dollars was a lot of money back then."

Mr. Clegg said he never checked the players' room and never heard another complaint from the desk clerk.

"I tried not to be one of those snarly old GMs," Mr. Clegg said.

Mr. Clegg's relationships with players 40 and 50 years ago have passed the test of time. Former Reds standouts still call Buster's house, sometimes to iron out details for an upcoming event … and sometimes just to say "hello." He pressed the button on his phone's answering machine and former Reds player Howie Menard's voice filled the room.

Hockey, he said, was a common ground that he shared with the players. He has always loved the game, whether it was when he was skating for UNH, running the RI Reds, or coaching his sons' youth hockey teams years ago.

Nowadays, he continues to love the game from his basement office, the galactic headquarters of the Rhode Island Reds Heritage Society.