Lynn legend Agganis impressed in hoop at Classical

The Agganis Foundation all-star basketball games bounce into action Thursday at Classical High, the alma mater of sports legend Harry Agganis.More than a million dollars worth of college scholarship money has been raised by the Agganis Foundation.Agganis Games include lacrosse and soccer as well as football, baseball and basketball. Agganis was nationally famous for baseball and football. But it turns out that he was also an exciting high school basketball All-Star at Classical.Former Superintendent of Lynn Schools Ed Johns knew Agganis personally, and often worked out with him in the old Classical gym and at Barry Park. In fact, Johns was visiting Agganis, then a famous Red Sox player, at Sancta Maria Hospital in Cambridge the day Agganis died.It was June 27, 1955.”I played sports at Classical High that year,” recalls Johns. “But that warm summer day, Bill Joyce, who was Harry’s legendary football coach, took me with him to see Harry at the hospital. I was nervous to be there because word was that Harry was very ill. When we entered the hospital, we were told that Harry had just passed away. Coach Joyce was devastated, as was I. He drove us back to Lynn without saying a word, though he was crying from time to time.””Harry was the idol of all Lynn-area youths in those days,” continued Johns. “I recall helping Harry work out at the Classical gym (on the Common) in the off-season when he was with the Boston Red Sox. He even threw football passes to me at Barry Park. He was kind to me and everyone else.”Johns, father of former Classical baseball coach Benjie Johns, confirms that Agganis was also a basketball star.Lynner Ted Booras, a 1948 classmate with Agganis, witnessed it: “I saw Harry lead Classical in scoring, and he was a powerful rebounder and great defensive player. When his best friend Lou Tsioropoulos (a future Boston Celtic) left Classical to play for Lynn English, Harry covered him in their games against each other. The first time they met, Harry scored 23 points and held Lou to 13.”Harry also had to cover a super 20-point scorer in a big game against Salem High, then league champs. The Salem star was 6-foot-5 Al Kendall. But Harry, who was five inches shorter, held Kendall scoreless! And Classical pulled off the upset win.”As a senior, Agganis finished fifth in the league scoring race, just a few points behind Tsioropoulos and Mike Carr of Lynn English. In his 1948 red and white Classical basketball uniform, Agganis wore number 12.