Had a chance today to speak to a 61-year old male football player.

Yes, 61.

His name is Alan Moore and he is a kicker for Faulkner University, a small Christian school in Montgomery, Alab.  Enrolment is about 3,000 students. The football team, called the Eagles, are 1-1 and play this weekend and count on Moore, a Vietname War veteran, to be kicking – again.

He’s going to be my guest this Saturday on Sports Central between 10:00am and 1:00pm on Sportsnet Radio THE FAN 590. You can also listen via the Web at www.fan590.com

For Moore, this is his third year in football. He started in 1968. Then, took a break, and returned to university 42 years later.

He played his freshman year at Jones County Community College before he headed off to Vietnam for almost a year. Then, decided – much later – to return to continue his education. He watched a football game after returning from his military duties in the Far East, grabbed some footballs and what really got him going was hearing people get negative about older guys playing the game.

His teammates like him. Same for coaches. He’s not worrried about injuries, even hits to the head and concussions, and he’s also eligible to play. He’s also a grandfather of five and his teammates also have a few chuckles about the guy who is old enough to, ah, be their senior citizen. But, good for him.

In case you are wondering, there are reports that Ken Mink, a 73-year old, may have been the oldest to compete in university or college sports. He played some basketball at Roane State College in Tennessee.  Not sure about Canada or whether anyone keeps those stats in this country.

In his seventh decade, and he kicked his team’s first extra point. Applause, please.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 at 8:21 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.