NISKAYUNA, N.Y.-- A Niskayuna man owes his life to a group of over 50 basketball players, and an elementary school custodian.
When 72-year-old Bill Johnson's heart stopped after being on the court for no more than five minutes, two of his teammates on the Colonie Senior Basketball League immediately began CPR.
Johnson has no memory of his heart attack in the middle of the pickup game.
"Running down the floor, light went out, blacked out, never remembered hitting the floor," said Johnson.
However, his friends do.
"Bill fell to the floor and very quickly turned a grayish blue color," said Dan Quinn, Johnson's teammate.
Quinn found a custodian who rushed in the school's defibrillator and together they brought Johnson back to life.
"One of the EMS guys said to me, 'oh, did you do the defibrillator,' and I said 'oh yeah, what did i do wrong?' and he said, 'well you saved his life,'" said Doug Hutton, custodian at Roessleville Elementary School.
Johnson's next memory was being wheeled into an ambulance.
Doctors told Johnson the plaque in his heart was only 20 percent, well below the 70 percent that's usually a cause for concern.
The basketball player, golfer, and swimmer is still absorbing the shock of his heart attack, and calling the men that saved his life his heroes
"I don't know if hero's the right word but certainly as everyone looks back, we were glad we were there and we were glad that we all did the right thing and it had the best of all possible outcomes," said Quinn.
"I just can't thank them enough," said Johnson. "It's not a swap of something, it's a life."
Johnson is now home recovering but it will be months before he is well enough to play again. However, Johnson said he first wants to learn CPR.
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