A Variety Of Sports Gives A Man Life

Jeff Doman, 74, rebounded (pun intended) from a near-death experience in basketball to win three consecutive Free Throw Shooting contests (2022-24). But basketball is just one of the seven sports he plays. They all keep him alive.

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By Ray Glier

The most appreciated benefit of being a Geezer Jock is that when you decide to drop dead doing your Geezer Jock thing, there are usually older and wiser people around to bring you back.

I’m not being flippant.

On the morning of December 18, 2021, Jeff Doman, 70, was playing pickup basketball in Chicago and crumpled to the floor. His heart stopped, but there were people around to perform CPR and bring him back and get him to the hospital.

I have written about other Geezer Jocks who seemingly died and were brought back, like swimmer Bob Welty. 

Doman, 74, had brief heart failure, but not because he decided to foolishly rev up his heart after 10 years on the couch. His heart-stopping moment was due to a condition called amyloidosis, a rare disease that results from the build-up of a protein called amyloid, with 10-year survival rate reaching just 16%–20% in many cases. 

What is notable about Jeff's story is that the crisis filled him with an overwhelming appreciation of life. He didn't just start to squeeze every ounce of joy out of athletics.

Doman was already doing that before the heart episode. The man was playing seven sports: basketball, softball, baseball, golf, tennis, running, and swimming. He was not out of shape when trauma came for him.

Think about it. Jeff could have had a health crisis on the baseball field, the tennis court, or in the swimming pool and still had hands pumping on his chest or calling 9-1-1, like the basketball guys did four years ago.

Furthermore, Jeff’s disease has not made him timid. He is still out there.

That's the imperative for all of us.

Going through trauma? You can overcome it and play again.

“In my case, it saved my life,” Doman said about his close call. “I was taken to the hospital, and they took many tests for several days, and they found out I had this disease, which is a blood cancer.

“I started taking chemotherapy and got the proper medical treatments, and recovered for two years. I've had a little bit of a relapse, but it's really been not that much of a factor. I'm just back to taking my medical treatment.”

And then the man with a serious medical issue said this:

“You know, I'm basically healthy. I can play sports.”

**

Jeff, a wiry 6-foot-2, plays pickup basketball games around Evanston where he lives. He has a defibrillator now, just in case. Doman is prepping for the 16-inch softball season in Skokie, close to Evanston. 

With pride, Jeff says, “It's not a league, though I've gotten some offers to play in a different league in Glenview, but that's 12-inch, and that's a little different game.”

Jeff has been nominated for the 16-inch softball Chicago Hall of Fame because of his athleticism in left field, the key position in the game. Sixteen-inch softball was created in Chicago because of the harshness of The Great Depression, which made gloves a luxury. So to be considered for the 16-inch HOF in Chicago is quite an honor.

The skill with a stick and ball can be a lifelong gift and Doman is treating it as such. When the varsity baseball team at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago played an annual game with alumni, Jeff was in the thick of it for the alums. In his 60s! He rapped out some hits and made some plays.

“I really stood out on the field because of my age,” he said. “And a lot of students would come up to me, 18-, 19-year olds, and say, ‘How can you do this?’ I was an inspiration to them, which was gratifying.”

Doman made those kids less worried they would get pushed out of the game they love when they got older.

So Geezer Jocks…do that for a younger player, why don’t you. Tell them It Ain't Over til It's Over.

Indeed, you don’t have to be sidelined in your 60s, devoid of ambition. Reasonable hand-eye coordination and some running ability and balanced feet can make you competitive, even at 67. Who knows what you can accomplish. Doman knows.

Mexico City hosted the 14th Pan American Maccabi Games in 2019 (the Jewish Olympics) with 19 countries and 3,800 athletes. Jeff, 67, won a bronze medal in men’s doubles tennis in his age group.

**

Doman has not made this a solo run. His wife, Sue, has been with this sports fanatic 51 years. Jeff is playing sports and still working in construction management. A devoted supporter helps.

And there is this about his network of support:

“Both of my sisters are cancer survivors, and actually both of my daughters now are also cancer survivors,” Doman said. “I come from a family of survivors.”

On top of sports, Jeff played in the percussion section for a 130-member symphonic band at DePaul University in Chicago at a sold out concert (see pictures at end of story). He also had some performances in the percussion section for a summer outdoor Sousapalooza band concert in downtown Chicago at Grant Park. 

The hardest thing about being Jeff Doman is answering the inevitable question.

Which sport do you like best?

“If you wind up just playing only basketball, I'd only be friends with basketball guys,” Jeff said. “But the life I live, I mean, I make new friends in baseball, tennis, softball, in every sport.

“The social camaraderie is big for me. I've got all these really nice, interesting people I'd never met before.”

William Cowpers’ 1785, poem where he said “Variety is the very spice of life” can also translate to, in Doman’s world, “Variety is life.”

(pictures of Jeff in various endeavors).

And, finally, hoops. Doman snatches a rebound from three opponents in the National Senior Games.

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