AUBURN - To people around the Auburn YMCA-WEIU, Clyde Monroe is known simply as "Sonny."
"I'm junior," Monroe said. "I'm named after my father so everyone thought that would be the best nickname for me and everybody remembers that."
Monroe, a 2004 Auburn Sports Hall of Fame inductee, has always been an athletic person. Through his years at East High School he played varsity baseball, basketball and football.
"My whole family was generally into sports," Monroe said. "It was the main thing to do, there was no television, just the radio. And we had our neighborhood groups and we carried on into high school. It was meant to be something you were supposed to do and we enjoyed it of course."
After his graduation in 1947, he attended Colgate where he played baseball before serving two years in the Marines.
After returning home from the Marines, Monroe was not ready to retire from sports. That is when he began solidifying his position as the "ambassador" of the YMCA.
"He's a legend up here," said Dorothea Hughes, assistant executive director of the Auburn YMCA. "He is involved in so many things. He is such a mentor and we all have a great deal of respect for him."
"I try to set an example for people," Monroe said. "We're fortunate in our town to have such a beautiful facility. Jim Courtney and Dorothea Hughes have done a great job. People come in from out of town and say how lucky we are."
Monroe says when he started spending time at the Y he took an interest in handball.
"I started out playing handball," Monroe said. "That's one of the toughest games. You use your right and left hand. It's tough on the palms."
Through the '70s, he moved on to paddleball and is now an adamant fan and regular player of racquetball.
"Since the league began in 1986 he was one of the first people to sign up and I don't think he's missed a session," Hughes said. "Even if he isn't playing he watches and encourages."
Monroe plays in the Monday Night League with 42 other players, many 35 years younger.
"I look forward to the competition," Monroe said. "You've got to keep active and keep the blood pumping, it feels better and it's fun to compete."
Monroe is known among friends and other players as a fierce opponent.
"I've played racquetball with him off and on for a lot of years," David Wayne said. "He's a real crafty player with a long reach. He's very accurate and he knows how to play."
Wayne has seen Monroe play younger opponents who have taken early leads and believed they were in for a quick victory.
"But he's not easily detoured," Wayne said. "I've seen him be behind and come back to win. Don't underestimate him. He plays for fun and he goes out and has a good time but he is a competitor."
"Nobody want to lose," Monroe said. "And nobody wants to lose to somebody 35 years older than them so there is no fooling around but it is still for the fun of it."
He is also a fixture in the Y gym. Monroe says that he likes to stay in a routine and remain in the best shape he can even with arthritic knees. He tries to encourage other seniors to do the same.
"Everyone should keep active," Monroe said. " The idea is to feel better. The first thing to go is the legs but if you keep working on them then they keep you healthy."
He has a standard morning regimen, beginning often at four in the morning with stationary bike, lifting and Nautilus and then waits for his first game of racquetball, often returning to play later in the evening too.
All of this before his day as a job coach with Unity House.
"Once your blood gets going it won't let you stay in bed," Monroe said. "I'm only partially retired."
"He has the body of a man 20 years younger," Wayne said. "And he works at it. You can set your watch by him. He is there every single day. He is a great role model for people and a great ambassador for the Y."
Monroe has no intentions of slowing down either.
"I've got three granddaughters that keep me busy," Monroe said. "Sitting around the house isn't what I'm noted for. Go out and do something."
Monroe, a 2004 Auburn Sports Hall of Fame inductee, has always been an athletic person. Through his years at East High School he played varsity baseball, basketball and football.
"My whole family was generally into sports," Monroe said. "It was the main thing to do, there was no television, just the radio. And we had our neighborhood groups and we carried on into high school. It was meant to be something you were supposed to do and we enjoyed it of course."
After his graduation in 1947, he attended Colgate where he played baseball before serving two years in the Marines.
After returning home from the Marines, Monroe was not ready to retire from sports. That is when he began solidifying his position as the "ambassador" of the YMCA.
"He's a legend up here," said Dorothea Hughes, assistant executive director of the Auburn YMCA. "He is involved in so many things. He is such a mentor and we all have a great deal of respect for him."
"I try to set an example for people," Monroe said. "We're fortunate in our town to have such a beautiful facility. Jim Courtney and Dorothea Hughes have done a great job. People come in from out of town and say how lucky we are."
Monroe says when he started spending time at the Y he took an interest in handball.
"I started out playing handball," Monroe said. "That's one of the toughest games. You use your right and left hand. It's tough on the palms."
Through the '70s, he moved on to paddleball and is now an adamant fan and regular player of racquetball.
"Since the league began in 1986 he was one of the first people to sign up and I don't think he's missed a session," Hughes said. "Even if he isn't playing he watches and encourages."
Monroe plays in the Monday Night League with 42 other players, many 35 years younger.
"I look forward to the competition," Monroe said. "You've got to keep active and keep the blood pumping, it feels better and it's fun to compete."
Monroe is known among friends and other players as a fierce opponent.
"I've played racquetball with him off and on for a lot of years," David Wayne said. "He's a real crafty player with a long reach. He's very accurate and he knows how to play."
Wayne has seen Monroe play younger opponents who have taken early leads and believed they were in for a quick victory.
"But he's not easily detoured," Wayne said. "I've seen him be behind and come back to win. Don't underestimate him. He plays for fun and he goes out and has a good time but he is a competitor."
"Nobody want to lose," Monroe said. "And nobody wants to lose to somebody 35 years older than them so there is no fooling around but it is still for the fun of it."
He is also a fixture in the Y gym. Monroe says that he likes to stay in a routine and remain in the best shape he can even with arthritic knees. He tries to encourage other seniors to do the same.
"Everyone should keep active," Monroe said. " The idea is to feel better. The first thing to go is the legs but if you keep working on them then they keep you healthy."
He has a standard morning regimen, beginning often at four in the morning with stationary bike, lifting and Nautilus and then waits for his first game of racquetball, often returning to play later in the evening too.
All of this before his day as a job coach with Unity House.
"Once your blood gets going it won't let you stay in bed," Monroe said. "I'm only partially retired."
"He has the body of a man 20 years younger," Wayne said. "And he works at it. You can set your watch by him. He is there every single day. He is a great role model for people and a great ambassador for the Y."
Monroe has no intentions of slowing down either.
"I've got three granddaughters that keep me busy," Monroe said. "Sitting around the house isn't what I'm noted for. Go out and do something."
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