Retired Pharmacist Attends More Than 1000 Consecutive College Basketball Games

There’s no guessing which team retired pharmacist Irving Rider is rooting for this March Madness.

Rider has attended every single West Virginia University (WVU) men’s home basketball game since the 1934-1944 season, The Register-Herald reported.

That means the retired pharmacist has attended 1059 games as of March 5, 2015, though the Mountaineers have another home game against Oklahoma State University scheduled for this weekend.

Rider, 88, of Rivesville, West Virginia, told The Register-Herald that he has also likely seen 720 total WVU football games since 1944, though he did miss 1 home game. His excuse for missing that game? He was turkey hunting with 3 doctors.

Prior to his 42-year career as a pharmacist at McVicker’s Pharmacy in Morgantown, West Virginia, Rider earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree at WVU. He also played basketball in high school, which catapulted his interest in sports, Rider told The Register-Herald.

Rider is still physically active and was just recently in Florida playing golf with his 2 brothers. One of his brothers, Dan, is also a practicing pharmacist.

“I enjoyed every phase of my pharmacy career,” Rider told The Register-Herald. “You meet a lot of wonderful people, and I certainly did.”