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Aug 16, 2009 11:24 pm US/Central
Finding Minnesota: Hockey With Hair White As Ice
(WCCO)
Once the sport of hockey is in your blood, once you've laced up the skates and learned your way around the ice, it's always hard to walk away -- no matter how your joints may ache or how gray your hair has gotten.
Just ask the men who call themselves the "Minnesota Old-Timers." You'll find them each week at the
Bloomington Ice Garden, even in mid-August.
"I think we only have maybe one or two [players] who are under 60," said Jim Westby, the group's leader. "Everybody else is 60 and over."
They're guys who've been playing for decades. They've built good careers and big families, but they're always drawn back to the ice.
"I've been playing this game since I was 8 years old," said team member Dan Semlak, 65 years old. "The only time I didn't play was two years in the Army."
At the age of 68, Terry Noble said he still gets a rush from scoring on the ice.
"There's nothing like putting a piece of rubber in the net and watching the goaltender's face," he said. "I quit for about 10 years when I started a business and never thought I'd put 'em back on again, and then I ran into a bunch of these guys."
The Old-Timers have competed in senior tournaments around the world. The oldest player is Del Erickson, at 73 years old.
"As long as I can move out there, I'm going to keep at it," he said.
Many of the players have had knee surgeries, hip surgeries and even heart surgeries. Through it all, their biggest concern is healing up so they can get back out on the ice.
"The back is a big deal in this game because you bend over all the time," said Semlak. "Backs and knees, it seems."
Noble has been under the scalpel several times in the past year.
"I've had both shoulders done, biceps resected (removed) last year," he said. "I'm just coming off ankle surgery. I'm trying to get in shape. At our age, it gets harder and harder all the time."
The leader of the group, Jim Westby, played for the Gophers back in the 50s and early 60s. He is 72 years old.
"In order to keep young, you got to keep playing," he said.
It is a different kind of workout.
"There's one thing to jogging on the beach and lifting weights. It's another thing to have somebody chasing you with a piece of wood in his hands. Makes you kick it out a little harder," explained Noble.
By being out there each week, they can keep their great memories from the past alive, while also staying hopeful about the future.
"We'll be going for hopefully another 10 years," said Westby.
Right now, the Minnesota Old-Timers are training for their next tournament. They'll be competing in Vancouver in September.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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