Former Classical coach Brenner remembered as a gentleman, educator

One of Herb Brenner’s most celebrated basketball players remembers his former coach as a gentleman and an educator first ? and foremost.”He was a great man,” said Peter Mazareas of Nahant. “That’s for sure.”Brenner, who coached at Lynn Classical for 23 years (1954 through 1977), died Monday night at the age of 93. Not only did Brenner coach the Rams through some of their most successful days, he left his successor, Lou Falkoff, well set up to win a state championship of his own three years after he retired.During his tenure, Brenner’s teams won 258 games and made 16 state tournament appearances, including several at the old Tech Tourney at the Boston Garden.But more important, said Mazareas, “first and foremost, he was an educator. He was a gentleman. He put basketball into perspective.”Mazareas, a captain in his senior year who went on to Harvard, said that Brenner didn’t mind him missing practice to participate in the senior play, and that he didn’t demand that his players concentrate on basketball all year round, the way some coaches do today.”Can you imagine,” he asked, “a coach today with that attitude? But that’s why playing for him was so special. He made it fun. If he’d been the type of coach who yelled and screamed, or made those kinds of demands, I don’t know if I’d have been interested in playing.”Even opponents recognized how special he was. Former English boys basketball/baseball coach Ron Bennett both played and coached against Brenner’s Rams.”I had him when I was a student at Eastern Junior High, I played against him when I was a student at English High, and I coached against him,” Bennett said. “He was an outstanding man and a great coach.”His teams were always well-prepared,” Bennett said. “When you played against a Herb Brenner team, you knew you were in for a real battle.”Similarly, former English coach Buzzy Barton, who played for the Bulldogs, also remembers Brenner as a gentleman.”He made you feel good,” said Barton, now a Lynn city councilor. “He always had a kind word for me, even when we were playing against Classical.”I just remember how he carried himself, and how kids looked up to him. He also helped a lot of kids get into college.”Tom Grassa, the current Classical coach, played his basketball at St. Mary’s, but grew up across the street from Classical and knew Brenner from his days playing junior high basketball.”Any contact I had with him, back then, was purely social,” he said. “Herb was a terrific guy.”Grassa succeeded Falkoff when he retired, and recalls that Brenner never offered any unsolicited advice ? either to Falkoff or to him.”Whenever we talked, it was never about basketball Xs and Os, or anything like that,” Grassa said. “Most people remember his legacy as that of a coach, but he was many things. He was an all-around educator. He wore many hats, and his loss is a great one to the Classical community.””He was a true gentleman,” said James Leonard, the former superintendent of Lynn Schools. “And he’s the last of a true triumvirate. There was him, (former Salem State coach) Jim Twohig, and (former English coach) Al Levy. They were all true gentlemen. Class all the way.”Brenner is in three Halls of Fame: English (where he graduated), Classical and Salem State (where he played basketball as well). The gym at the Fecteau-Leary school (the old Classical) is named for him.Brenner also received the Robert Pierce Award for coaching and sportsmanship by Board 130 of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials, and the North Shore Coaches League Outstanding Achievement Award.His son, Gary, who is the head of the Lynn Retirement Board, is also a basketball official.Mazareas said one of Brenner’s best attributes as a coach was his ability to coach to the skills of his players rather than the other way around.”He never tried to force players into a system,” he said. “He played to the skills of his players. That’s another reason why playing for him was so memorable. I’m 62 and I sti