The super-fit 92-old [Jim Blair] – born in 1931, he turns 93 in May – will be competing in the New Zealand Masters Games starting in Dunedin on Saturday, but moves better than some 40-year-olds and can recall decades-old facts and anecdotes (such as a trial offer with Aston Villa in the 1950s) with complete ease. […]
Blair will compete in the throwing events at the Masters Games. […]
Blair says he started playing football when he was six, which was the start of a lifelong love affair with the game that saw him win the Chatham Cup with Stop Out in 1956.
The offer of a trial with Aston Villa came shortly afterwards, but with the club unable to pay for flight costs and Blair with a new house and new baby in New Zealand, he politely declined.
But football wasn’t his only passion, and sport ran in the family – brother Bob represented New Zealand in cricket.
“I think just continually being involved in sporting activities for 12 months a year,” he said. “If I wasn’t playing football, I was playing cricket. […]
Asked how long he intends to keep competing, Blair said: “Just as long as I’m on this side of the ground.
“I’d like to be able to compete at the World Indoor Champs when I’m 95.”
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