Racquetball Buff, 90, Not Ready to Retire From Work or Sports

PORTERVILLE, Calif. — At 90, Larry Ash only works part time as an agricultural chemist. After all, he needs his afternoons free for the gym.

He plays racquetball at least five times a week, usually at midafternoon when the courts are quietest.

“It’s amazing, the fact that he never misses, that he shows up every day to play,” said Joanne Wood, assistant manager at Sierra Fitness Center. “He’s just basically getting in there and keeping the joints moving rather than sitting and letting them stagnate. He has a real good outlook on life.”

Ash’s competition on the courts is considerably younger because there is not anybody at the gym near his age. One regular opponent is a 65-year-old man, another a woman in her 50s.

“We do it for fun, not to show we’re better than anyone else, so we don’t even keep score,” Ash said.

One player in his 30s refused to compete against Ash, fearing possible embarrassment if beaten or pressed by a man old enough to be his grandfather. “I thought that was quite a compliment,” said Ash.

Ash was an avid bicyclist and swimmer and played some racquetball when he was younger but began slowing down with arthritis and other aches and pains in his 60s. He says he overcame the arthritis, so he took up racquetball again at 83, when the first courts opened in this community, 125 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

“I’m an unusually well-preserved person,” he said. “I’ve lived a pretty careful life as far as physical health is concerned, so I don’t see any point in retiring because I would be less active, probably both physically and mentally.”

He has worked 23 years for a small company that produces plant growth stimulants from imported yucca trees.

Ash does not limit his activities to working and racquetball. When he has time, he joins a senior citizens dance exercise class. Sometimes, he teaches the group Latin steps.