Okay, let’s talk about something that got me curious the other day – figuring out who the oldest guy playing college football actually was. It sounds simple, right? But it turned into a bit of a rabbit hole.
My Starting Point
So, I was just kicking back, maybe watching some highlights or reading sports news, I forget exactly. But the thought popped into my head: college kids are usually, well, kids. Like 18 to 22, maybe 23. But surely there must have been someone older, right? Someone who came back later in life? My curiosity was piqued.
Hitting the Search Engines
Naturally, the first thing I did was grab my laptop and start searching. I typed in stuff like “oldest college football player ever” and “senior citizen plays college football”. You know, the usual stuff. What I got back was… a mix. Lots of articles, blog posts, forum discussions. Different names kept popping up from different eras.
It wasn’t super clear cut. Some mentions were historical figures from decades ago, making it harder to quickly verify. Others seemed like maybe they practiced but never actually played in a game. I realized just finding a name wasn’t enough; I needed to know if they really played in an official NCAA game.
Trying to Pin It Down
I decided to focus on more recent examples, thinking they’d be easier to confirm. I started cross-referencing names with school rosters I could find online and official game reports or news articles from reputable sources. It took a bit of clicking around. I’d find a name, then search specifically for that person, their school, and the years they supposedly played.
- Checked school athletic sites.
- Looked for news reports about their first game or specific achievements.
- Tried to filter out guys who were just on the practice squad or didn’t see actual game time.
Finding a Solid Example
One name that kept appearing with solid evidence was Joe Thomas Sr. This seemed like a legitimate case. Back in 2016, this guy got into a game for South Carolina State. And get this – he was 55 years old at the time! Fifty-five!
Apparently, it was a dream he’d had for a long time. What’s even cooler is that his son, Joe Thomas Jr., was also on the team! He didn’t just practice; he actually got carries in a real game. He took a handoff and ran for a few yards. That seemed pretty concrete and well-documented.
There were other older players mentioned, like Alan Moore who played kicking at Faulkner University when he was even older, maybe 61? But the details around his actual game participation seemed a bit fuzzier in my quick search compared to Thomas Sr.’s very clear, recorded play.
What I Took Away
Man, digging into this was pretty interesting. It just goes to show you, age really can be just a number if you’ve got the drive. Seeing someone like Joe Thomas Sr. finally get on that field at 55, playing alongside his son… that’s resilience right there. It’s easy to think college sports are only for young folks, but stories like these definitely challenge that. It was a neat little research project, starting from just a random thought and ending with a pretty inspiring story. Makes you think about your own goals, you know?
