Former Classical, Salem State coach Twohig dead at 92

Jim Twohig, the former Lynn Classical and Salem State basketball coach who went onto become a Lynn city assessor, school committeeman and city councilor, died Saturday at an assisted living facility on Cape Cod.”He was my best friend,” said Herb Brenner, who notified the local media of Twohig’s death, and who succeeded Twohig as the coach at Classical. “He was just a real good guy.”Twohig played at Classical before serving as captain for the Salem State team in 1957 – a team that include future Lynn English coach Al Levy and Brenner.He coached in Vermont and Billerica before coming back home to Lynn to take over the Classical program. From there, he went to Salem State, with Brenner succeeding him at Classical.At Salem, his teams won three New England titles, yet Twohig refused to take credit for the titles.”I don’t ever remember winning a game by strategy,” he said once. “the thing that makes a coach better than another coach is how he handles his team and relates to players.”Twohig was a true Renaissance man. Not only was he a teacher and a coach, but he was one of 26 charter members of the Board 130, the Northeastern Board of Approved Basketball Officials – a board that is still thriving today.He was also very active in Lynn politics, and, according to Brenner, “he was smart enough that he could have run for mayor. But he didn’t want to.”Twohig, a member of the Classical Hall of Fame, is also a charter member of the Salem State Varsity Club Hall of Fame, established in 1986. In 2001, the college renamed the gym at the O’Keefe Center in his honor.