State-Journal.com - Frankfort Faces: Old School's team intact for 20 years

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Photo By State Journal/Hilly SchifferNoel Clayton

Photo By State Journal/Hilly SchifferNoel Clayton, center, shoots a layup while warming up for a game with Ronnie Amburgey and David Collins at the downtown YMCA.

Photo By State Journal/Hilly SchifferAlan Ritchie, left, laughs with Noel Clayton during a pick-up basketball game at the Downtown YMCA. Clayton said he enjoys the comrade he has gained by playing basketball at the Downtown YMCA.

Noel Clayton has played on the same Frankfort basketball team for more than 20 years.

Its members file into the downtown YMCA gym at lunchtime, warming up a few minutes before they begin battling for points – one for each basket, two for shots from behind the arc.

There isn’t a scoreboard, and players serve as their own referees.

Over the years, new players have joined “the originals” on the court. Their uniforms are green, orange, blue, white, gray and red T-shirts; white socks, gray socks and black socks; ankle braces and knee braces.

Noel, who will celebrate his 60th birthday in September, plays basketball at the YMCA two or three times a week. A shoulder injury limits his range of motion, but his lifelong love of the game keeps him going.

“I’ve always loved basketball,” he said. “I wish I could’ve played more on school teams, but a lot of these guys didn’t play organized basketball either. They just love the game.”

Noel grew up in Russell County, Ky., where he played ball on the farm. He was on a team during middle school, but with lots of farm work and little time, pickup games became his focus.

“We put a goal up in the barnyard,” he said. “We played whenever we could. When there wasn’t anyone to play with, we’d go out to the barnyard and shoot some baskets.”

Noel moved to Frankfort in the mid ’70s when his wife got a job with the state. He began working in the heating and air conditioning business, first with a partner, and later opening Noel Clayton Heating and Cooling.

He’s been playing at the YMCA for 20 to 25 years. He started by joining the game during his lunch break.

“I was busy a lot, and I had better luck taking off during my lunch hour,” he said. “I would come down here, play a little basketball, and go back to work.”

The men who play lunch hour basketball at the YMCA are all ages. Most are businessmen or state workers, but there are Kentucky State University students and other young players too, Noel said. From a pool of about 30 regulars, between 10 and 15 join the game each day, he said.

“We just all show up here and play a little basketball,” he said, sitting on the gym bleachers as players filed in one morning. “Most of the young guys call me Mr. Noel or Old School.”

David Mahoney started playing basketball at the YMCA during college. He and Noel have shared the court hundreds of times since the 1980s.

“We’ve been trying to keep it going for more than 20 years,” he said. “We love the game, there’s good people, and it’s a whole lot better than getting on a machine. We have the most fun, and we get a good workout.”

Mahoney played basketball at Frankfort High School in 1982. One of his former teammates plays at the YMCA too.

“There’s a good mix of people here,” he said. “Old, young – all the guys are local. He works at Second Street School, he works at an auto parts store.”

Noel agreed that diversity is part of the appeal. Even Frankfort Mayor Gippy Graham was part of the team for a while, he said.

“It’s just fun to be around all age groups,” Noel said. “You know you’re not quite up to their level, but you get a move on one of them every now and then and make a basket.”

Nick Duvall has been playing there for the last four or five years.

“It’s nice playing with people that you know,” he said. “Especially someone as good as Mr. Noel.”

Noel says basketball is good exercise, and more important, it’s fun.

He has played church league softball and basketball and competed in trap shooting competitions, but he likes the camaraderie at the YMCA, where he once served on the board.

When the guys aren’t shooting baskets, they’re shooting the breeze about the Wildcats and Cardinals.

Noel says he thanks God for the blessing of good health, which keeps him on the court.

“I have aches and pains and bad joints, but you just try to come out and play as well as you can,” he said. “As long as I feel like it, I’m going to keep playing basketball. It’s just something I like to do.”

“Frankfort Faces” is a series that highlights people from within the Frankfort and Franklin County community. Each feature follows one of the city’s most unique personalities and includes a story, photos and video, which can be found by clicking the TV icon attached to the story online at state-journal.com.