The two oldest basketball players – 69 and 68 – kibbitzed in the lobby of my local YMCA, recapping the morning results, assessing who hogs the ball, and critiquing which guy calls too many “tickle’’ fouls.
I swung the conversation to retirement, not from work, but from play. Jimmy Nunn-sense and I may look like geezers on the court – what little hair we have doesn’t fly upward on our turtle-like fastbreaks – but we still play effectively with the 40-year-olds.
The question persists: “When is it time to quit?’’
“The answer is the day I walk on the court, look around, and realize there is no one I can reasonably match up with,’’ said Nunn, whose real name deserves the suffix because of his next wisecrack.
“Fortunately, as long as Jim Holleran is still playing, that’s not an issue.’’
You have to develop thick skin to deal with this Nunnsense.
Ogdensburg’s sultan of senior athletes unquestionably would be 71-year-old Bob King. Before he hung up his spikes a few years ago, King figured he played about 10,000 softball games over his career.
“I was still pitching modified and my wife (Jane) was worried about line drives up the middle,’’ King said with a longing in his voice. “I miss it like crazy, but I had enough. I played almost 50 years. That was a pretty good run.’’
He started playing immediately after high school (OFA) and continued competing throughout his professional career at Mitel, testing and repairing phones. King was a fixture on teams like Oscar’s, Rose’s Tavern and Labbers Lounge in the See-Way Slo-Pitch Men’s Softball League.
King laughed when he recalled the first meeting between his future wife and his parents.
“I took my wife home to meet my parents and my mother asked her: ‘Do you like softball?’ She didn’t have much of a choice but she loved it too.’’
King played three nights each week in Ogdensburg at the Maple City and Bridge and Port Authority Fields, and three nights in Massena. There were weekend cash tournaments too.
“I couldn’t tell you how much we won, but one summer we won 10 or 12 tournaments and about $10,000. Of course, we drank a lot of that money too.’’
Injuries over the years convinced him it was time to retire. He tore his right rotator cuff in 1986. His leg buckled lunging for first base in 1993 in Massena, resulting in a plateau fracture of his tibia. He tore his left bicep muscle in 2020 stretching for a ground ball.
“I am awfully competitive, and I hate to lose,’’ King said. “I love the competition. In my late 60s, I still got pumped to play a game. The teams I played on were pretty stacked and we didn’t lose very often.’’
He has slipped into a retirement job as a bus monitor for special needs children with the Ogdensburg school district but reserves time to watch his grandchildren play sports. Sophomore Brinlee Geary was competing on the front row of OFA’s volleyball team that won the Section X Class B championship.
Unlike King, Tom Luckie, 65, is headed from the bench to the hardwood. After retiring as director of the Ogdensburg Boys and Girls Club and Section X basketball assigner, he returned to the basketball court last season after a 15-year hiatus.
He worked three or four varsity girls games last winter and several modified games after a hip replacement.
“At our age, you can’t afford to sit down,’’ Luckie laughed.
Injuries take longer to heal, but competition still drives older athletes. That plus not wanting to concede that they should give up a sport they love.
“Working out, even competing in triathlons, is great exercise, but nothing compares to the competition of hoops,’’ said Nunn, 69. “I clearly have an over-the-top competitive gene.’’
He plays basketball four mornings a week and runs seven days a week throughout the year. He said he has worked out all but three days since 1974, coping with bone spurs, muscle pulls and dislocations.
Injuries can bench you, but they never extinguish the desire to compete. They just happen more frequently as we age. If you were injury-free, perhaps they catch up with you.
In the last 10 years, I’ve had two injuries from basketball – a C5 disk replacement from getting hammered on a shot attempt, and a non-displaced plateau fracture of my left tibia when a defender stumbled into my leg and knocked me head-over-heels. You wouldn’t think that blow could be so severe from a 150-pound guy nicknamed Fly. It was. Crutches for three months. I’m thankful I’ve never injured a knee or ankle severely, but I credit my leaping ability. It has been reduced to jumping over a credit card in a single bound.
Before those two injuries, my worst calamity was a finger caught inside the rugby jersey collar of a Niagara University foe. With a broken finger, I can effortlessly make Mr. Spock’s Vulcan salute.
The other motivators for aging athletes are the camaraderie, chatter and taunting during games. Nunn holds a Ph.D. in basketball barbs.
“I love to have fun on the court,’’ Nunn said. “Calling ‘game’ when I release the winning shot is sweet. Yelling ‘he won’t pass’ when an opponent has the ball brings some chuckles. So does saying, ‘How do you sleep at night?’ when an opponent makes an egregious call.’’
“Hoops also is important for my social life,’’ he said. “The guys get out for beers fairly frequently, and it’s always a great time. Plus it ensures I’ll have friends to carry my casket when that time comes!”
Morristown native Jim Holleran is a retired teacher and sports editor from Rochester. Reach him at jimholleran29@gmail.com or view past columns under “Reflections of River Rat’’ at https://hollerangetsitwrite.com/blog/
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