Background: Christos Kostas "Chris" Chelios (born January 25, 1962) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman. He was one of the longest tenured players in the National Hockey League, and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion - one with the Montreal Canadiens and two with the Detroit Red Wings. On January 27, 2017, in a ceremony during the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, Chelios became part of the second group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Chelios played for the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and briefly for the Atlanta Thrashers.
Context: Chelios was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 25, 1962, and raised by his parents, Gus and Susan Chelios. They lived in Evergreen Park, Illinois. He attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago until his family moved to Poway, California, where he attended Mira Mesa High School.  Unable to play high school hockey in southern California, Chelios wasn't recruited by any U.S. colleges. His only scholarship offer came from local San Diego-based United States International University, the only NCAA Division I hockey team west of the Rockies. But when Chelios arrived on campus as a freshman in 1979 he soon realized he was in the wrong environment, facing bigger players with considerably more junior hockey experience. He was eventually cut from the team and considered quitting hockey. Instead, he tried his luck in Canada, where he was twice cut by Junior B teams in Canada and hit a low point when he had to borrow money from strangers to get home to California one year. Chelios said, "I wasn't any bigger or any better than the other guys, so they weren't going to take a kid from the States when they could have a local guy."  He returned home and grew three inches while adding 40 pounds of muscle. He was then drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to that, he played for the Moose Jaw Canucks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League where he tallied 87 points and 175 penalty minutes in just 54 games in his final season. Chelios enjoyed two strong years playing for the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after being drafted. As one of the top collegiate players in the country, he was selected for the United States at the 1981-82 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship. In 1983, he was part of the Badgers' NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship team and was named to the all-tournament team and the second WCHA all-star team.  Chelios was a member of the U.S. Olympic team for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. After that he made his debut for the Canadiens, playing 12 games in the regular season and 15 in the playoffs. That summer he joined the U.S. team at the 1984 Canada Cup. He wore number 24 in Montreal, Detroit, and Atlanta but number 7 with the Chicago Blackhawks and Wolves.
Question: How old was chelios when he started playing?

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