LYNN — Sean Driscoll is a son of Winthrop. He’s seen all the Winthrop luminaries from recent years, from Joe Giaquinto to Anthony Palmer. And for his money, just based on what he’s heard about Harry Agganis, the “Golden Greek” stands alone at the top of the list of local athletes.
“There are a lot of local legends,” he said, “but it would seem like he had it all — multi-sport athlete, made the pros, things like that.”
Agganis played, and starred, for Lynn Classical in the years following World War II. After a hitch in the U.S. Marines — at Camp Lejeune — Agganis became a star quarterback at Boston University and then played a short time with the Red Sox before being stricken ill with the virus that helped contribute to his death.
Driscoll came over to Lynn in 2018 after a lifetime of living, working and coaching in Winthrop, to take over the St. Mary’s head coaching job vacated by Matt Durgin. Up to that point, he’d been both an assistant coach (2006) and head coach (2013) in the annual Agganis All-Star Football game. Wednesday night, he will be the head coach once again.
“It never gets old,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It’s important for me to understand the meaningfulness of the game — to understand Harry Agganis and the impact he had on the city.
“And that’s especially true now that I’m here, at St. Mary’s, and coaching in the city of Lynn,” he said.
It’s important for those who coach in the Agganis games to make sure their players understand a little of what the man represented. In Driscoll’s case, he gave his players homework.
“I gave it to them after the first day of practice,” he said. “I asked them to look him up. It’s so easy today with the internet and Google and everything. I really think most of my kids did it.”
Driscoll said the objective of the All-Star game is to simply play football and have fun.
“It’s an All-Star game,” he said. “We want it to be a great experience for everyone.”
Toward that end, the defenses will be basic — four-man fronts, with no blitzing.
“It just comes down to running plays, and to who makes them and who doesn’t.”
Driscoll will coach the South squad and will be up against his old Northeastern Conference rival Bobby Serino of Swampscott, who has the North team. Players from Driscoll’s team have been taken from St. Mary’s, Revere, Winthrop, Chelsea, Classical, Everett, English, Lynn Tech, and KIPP Academy, among others.
