By Cheryl Wray cwray@al.com
When Pat Boone was asked by a friend to play with the Virginia Creepers basketball team at the National Senior Games back in 2013, the renowned singer thought he’d be up against “a bunch of old guys with walkers.”
He discovered instead that the athletes playing in the Games displayed skills that belied their advanced ages.
“A lot of people were like me,” Boone said. “They’ve managed to keep themselves in really good shape.”
He said he made some good plays, but others far exceeded his abilities.
“We got beat in the semis by a very difficult team who had two guys close to seven feet tall,” he said.
Boone, 83, returns to the National Senior Games this week in Birmingham to play again in the basketball competition and to sing his international No. 1 hit “Love Letters in the Sand” at the Celebration of Athletes on June 9 at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex.
(Boone plays games Thursday and Friday at the Birmingham Crossplex, and sings Friday night at 6:30 at the BJCC. All Senior Games events are free and open to the public.)
Boone said that events such as the Senior Games are important in encouraging people to stay healthy and fit as they advance in age.
The alternative to exercise and fitness, he said, is something way too many seniors settle into–a life of complacency and inactivity.
“You have to stay in the game of life,” Boone said, “but too many people just exist as they get older. They don’t fully live.”
Boone is an advocate of exercise late in life, and works out everyday at some activity. He plays basketball, but also golfs and plays tennis almost daily.
He also takes it all pretty seriously; his competitive nature didn’t change, he said, just because he grew older.
“We treat this like it’s on national television,” he said, laughing. “These are moments in our lives that give us a chance to be competitive, doing ourselves good in a fun way. And hopefully it’s a good example to others.”
Boone’s special affinity for basketball comes from years of playing, but also connects to his history of team ownership.
He owned and organized the Oakland Oaks, a charter member of the ABA (American Basketball Association), back in 1967. The team won the league championship in 1969 after acquiring former NBA Rookie of the Year Rick Barry and defeating the Indiana Pacers for the title.
Boone said he jokingly told other players that he “would be the only player in Birmingham who had owned a basketball team.”
“I have a history in basketball, and a commitment to the game,” he said. “I love it.”
Boone said he looks forward to being in Birmingham not to just play basketball, but also to perform for fans and fellow seniors.
Boone remains one of the most popular American pop singers in history, with Elvis Presley opening for him before Presley broke through with his success. Boone sold over 45 million records, had 38 top-40 hits and appeared in more than 12 Hollywood films. He still holds the Billboard record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with one or more songs each week.
Boone still performs in concert; in fact, he enjoys doing everything he did as a younger man.
That activity and youthful spirit often prompts others to ask him “how he does it.”
“I’m often asked how I look so much younger than my age,” he said. “I’m not unique. There are plenty of people in great shape, like the athletes here in Birmingham this week.”
He does tell others, though, that the answer lies in the way he lives both physically and spiritually.
An outspoken Christian, Boone said that his faith gives him energy and hope for the future.
“I tell people to drink lots of milk, get lots of exercise, and have a clean conscience. That’s where your faith comes in,” Boone said. “So many people hold on to fear or anxiety or guilt that it makes them unhealthy. So many people are burdened and if you can get your conscience cleared on a regular basis you are much happier and healthy.”
As he gets ready to arrive in Birmingham on Thursday, Boone said he hopes to encourage others to stay in shape.
“All these athletes are proof that your body, although it may be rusty, is still workable,” he said. “You can still do it. Exercise will lengthen your days, and make your life more fun as well.”