Ultimate Friendship

Like a kid in a candy store, that was me at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, September 10, 2004. At the time, I was the director of athletics at Saint Francis University, a small, private college in Loretto, Pennsylvania, attending the Hall of Fame enshrinement of Maurice Stokes, an All-American when he played at Saint Francis.

As soon as I entered the Hall of Fame's hospitality room, there was Oscar Robertson standing by the doorway; Chuck Daly was nearby, fixing a cup of tea; Earl Lloyd, the first African-American in the NBA, was getting some hors d'oeuvres; James Worthy, Robert Parrish, and Moses Malone were joking with each other in one corner of the room; Bill Walton was sitting at one end of the room, Julius Erving at the other; Pat Summit was chatting with Ray Meyer, while Bob Cousy talked with David Stern.

To me, however, the biggest star in the room was Jack Twyman. A 1983 inductee to the Hall of Fame, Jack was there to make the acceptance speech on behalf of Maurice, for whom Jack lobbied for years to be inducted into the Hall. Jack has described Maurice as a bigger and stronger Magic Johnson and believed Maurice would have been one of the greatest to play the game if he had been able to enjoy a full career.

Maurice, however, was not able to play a full career. He led Saint Francis to the NIT in 1954 and 1955, being voted the tournament MVP in 1955, the only player ever named MVP from the fourth place team. He averaged 26.2 points per game and was named an All-American in 1955. He became that year's first draft pick of the Rochester Royals and went on to win Rookie of the Year honors his first year and earn All-Star honors in each of his first three--and only three--years in the NBA. He averaged 16.4 points, 17.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game over that three-year period.

In 1958, during the last regular season game of the year for the Royals--who moved to Cincinnati in 1957--Maurice fell, hit his head on the floor and was knocked unconscious. He was revived by smelling salts, but three days later he collapsed on the plane back to Cincinnati from a playoff game in Detroit. The accident sent him into a coma for six weeks and left him paralyzed, beginning a twelve-year battle with encephalitis.

Once the playoffs ended, all of Maurice's teammates headed back to their hometowns, except for Jack. He was the only player on the Royals who made his home in Cincinnati. Jack and Maurice were both from Pittsburgh and knew each other well, but were not particularly close friends. Yet it was Jack who stepped in to help and later became Maurice's legal guardian.

Jack was only twenty-four at the time, but he assumed responsibility for Maurice and worked on creative ways to finance Maurice's health care, such as establishing a summer all-star basketball game at Kutsher's Country Club in New York.

Maurice maintained a positive approach to life throughout his twelve-plus years of hospitalization, including his grueling physical therapy regimen. In fact, Jack often remarked that whenever he was feeling down, Maurice would lift his spirits. According to Jack, "I never, ever saw him feel sorry for himself. I never, ever in twelve years saw him have a bad day, never not have a smile on his face, not be more interested in you than he was in himself. He never pitied the situation he was in."

And while Jack says Maurice gave him back tenfold what he gave him, what Jack did by taking care of Maurice throughout his hospitalization until his premature passing in 1970, shows Jack to be one of the best friends that a person could ever hope to have.

Jack's Hall of Fame acceptance speech on behalf of Maurice Stokes told the story of Maurice the man. He brought tears to the eyes of everyone at the event and the national television audience as he made them aware of what made Maurice special. In the process, while this was not his intention, the speech also made it clear that Jack is a special man.

At a breakfast reception the morning after Maurice's induction into the Hall of Fame, Jack presented Saint Francis University with Maurice's Hall of Fame award, blazer, and ring for display in the school's Maurice Stokes Athletics Center. A display case with the items was unveiled at the athletics center on November 19, 2004, as part of a special recognition event for Maurice.

While this display celebrates the life of Maurice Stokes, it also celebrates the life of Jack Twyman--two great men who will always be intertwined in the true meaning of courage, caring, and brotherhood.