ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100027
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
Christiansburg resident and basketball enthusiast Jim Williamson has been going longer than the Energizer bunny.
Whereas Williamson's furry, alkaline-driven counterpart will eventually slow down, Williamson seems as though he might play hoops forever.
At age 56, Williamson recently finished his 35th year of participating in area adult recreational basketball leagues. While many players half his age find involvement with one team to be more than enough, Williamson had the drive to play for four teams.
"I just really love the game of basketball," Williamson said. "This season, I played with teams in Christiansburg, Radford, Floyd and a 50-and-older team out of Wytheville. I've had some conflicts with the schedules this year, but I played as much as was possible."
Williamson, a four-year player at Jonesville High (closed when Lee County High opened) and at Union College (Ky.), said some of his most enjoyable seasons in the area have come as a member of the Shelor's team.
"I've had a lot of great times playing with those teams," Williamson said. "Part of the fun comes through playing. Part of it is the guys you play with. I've played with guys like Larry Shelor and Mike Burnop [Virginia Tech Radio Network football color analyst] for years now. There have been a lot of others too that made it fun.
"Most of the people that I used to play with and against have given up the sport by now. One of the things that is great about playing for a long time is that I even got to play with my son. When he was still in high school, he played with me on the Shelor's team. That was very enjoyable for both of us."
Williamson has for the most part evaded the wear and tear of years on the court, having missed only one season, with a broken leg, and a handful of games over the last three and a half decades.
"I broke my leg one winter when I slipped on some ice in my driveway," Williamson said. "When people saw me on crutches they said, 'I knew you would hurt yourself playing ball one day'. They were surprised when they found out my injury had nothing to do with basketball."
Williamson's recreational league career has been in serious jeopardy only once, when he discovered he was going to have to undergo a balloon angioplasty to clear clogged coronary arteries.
"Too much pizza, I guess," Williamson said. "I was playing a game and felt a pain in my chest. I had a hernia and thought that was what it was. I kept playing, and it wasn't until later I found out what the problem was and that I needed a minor surgery.
"I thought I might be out awhile because of that one, but I got back very quickly. I only missed about three or four games. I guess maybe the fact that I have played a lot of years kept me in decent shape and maybe helped me recover quickly."
So how long will Williamson continue as the area's basketball ironman?
"People come up to me all the time and ask me how much longer I'm going to continue," Williamson said. "To tell you the truth, I haven't even thought about quitting. Not as long as I'm having this much fun and my health holds up. I'm feeling OK now, and I'm playing a lot. I'm just looking forward to next season."
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. Jim Williamson played on four differentby CNBbasketball teams this season.