Who Says 96 Is Old?

By Jere Hough Meteorologist / Feature Reporter

Jim Backes took up skeet shooting when he was about 60. A year later he beat the reigning Alabama champ by hitting 100 flying targets in a row. At 96, he's still shooting. Who Says 96 Is Old?

Published: Tue, October 02, 2007 - 3:41 pm Last Updated: Wed, October 03, 2007 - 10:44 am

Jere Hough

We are told that as we age, a key to good health is to stay active...don't give up those outdoor hobbies we enjoy. Meet Jim Backes of Mobile and that will seem like very good advice. A hunter of dove and ducks, he tried skeet shooting in 1969. In 1970 he entered the Alabama State Skeet Tournament.
"I went against the current champion. I beat him by one bird...I broke a hundred straight, and he broke 99," he remembers.
He is retired from the Alabama Dry Docks where, as a chemical engineer, was their Marine Gas Chemist. The work involved climbing in and out of huge cargo holds and eventually his knees weakened. At 96 years old, he is confined to a wheel chair or motorized scooter. But with a little help to get set up, he still shoots accurately.
He wears large sunglasses when he shoots skeet. They are nonprescription and, remarkably, the only eyewear he needs for the sport!
He says, "I've always like shooting...I've hunted...since I was so high. I've shot in a lot of tournaments. I've won a lot and I've dropped a lot. But it's fun."
To shoot skeet takes strength, coordination, steady hands, and excellent eyesight...all things that Jim Backes has been enjoying for nearly a century.
Incidentally, his friends call him "Colonel." In World War II he spent three and a half years in the European Theatre as an officer, and after the war he was promoted to full colonel.