Jack Twyman was one of the greatest players in Cincinnati basketball history. He earned All-American honors on the 1954-1955 Bearcats team that finished third in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
Twyman played eleven seasons for the Rochester and, later, Cincinnati Royals, where he earned all-star honors on six occasions. The Pittsburgh-native averaged nearly 20 points per game for his career and was 20th all-time in scoring in NBA history at the time of his retirement.
Twyman remains well-known to basketball fans for the story of his guardianship and financial support for paralyzed Cincinnati Royals teammate Maurice Stokes, who was injured in a 1958 regular season game. Twyman supported Stokes financially for the remainder of his life.
From the video vault today is Twyman's Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech. UC teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson introduced him. As you will see in the video, Twyman was a gentleman. He was gracious. He was thankful to all who helped him along the way. Twyman exuded an understated dignity that had already begun to recede from the culture at the time he gave this speech.
Basically, it was the opposite of Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame induction speech.
Yesterday would have been Twyman's 81st birthday.
