The last time Joe Plant missed a New Castle High School football game -- home or away -- Harry Truman was president, gas cost 25 cents a gallon and Kentucky Fried Chicken had just opened.

That was 1952, when Plant was 18 years old. Since then, Plant has planted himself in the stands for 579 consecutive New Castle games.

Don't choke on your morning coffee. You read right. Five-hundred seventy-nine.

IN A ROW!!!

Through rain, through snow, through sickness, through long car rides, Plant's streak has survived and is now in its 57th season. He's 74 years old and a resident of Mahoning Township near New Castle.

Heck, the streak has outlasted one marriage already. Plant has been married to his second wife for 25 years.

The guy doesn't bleed red. He bleeds New Castle red and black. And if New Castle isn't in the playoffs, he'll usually go to another WPIAL game. You could call him the WPIAL's No. 1 fan, or a fan's version of Cal Ripken. He is another example of what makes Western Pennsylvania football a little special.

"It's no big deal," Plant said of his streak.

Plant had to be convinced to be interviewed for this story, and he had to be coaxed for a picture.

"Ahhh, the local paper here [New Castle News] bugged me for years for a story and a picture and I finally gave in," Plant said. "So, I guess I'll do it for [the Post-Gazette].

"I just don't see the big deal with this. I just love football. I've actually seen 621 New Castle games, but only 579 in a row. I missed some way back when I was a kid because my mother wouldn't let me go to away games."

You might scoff at the streak, but those close to New Castle athletics say it's for real.

"It's true," said New Castle athletic director Sam Flora. "I've been around New Castle sports for close to 30 years and everyone knows Joe. They know he's been at every game. He's kind of like a legend up here."

How Plant got to love New Castle football is a story in itself. When he was 9, he and his family moved from a small town in Cambria County to New Castle. The family moved on a Friday in October, into a house on a bank that overlooked New Castle's Taggart Stadium.

Plant had never been to a football game in his life, but that night he was wide-eyed at Taggart's bright lights. He couldn't help but be intrigued after seeing about 10,000 fans go into the stadium (that was a regular New Castle crowd back then).

So, Plant decided to go.

"I'll never forget it. I thought it was the greatest spectacle of anything I had ever seen in my life," Plant said. "My mother wouldn't let me go to games again until I was in junior high, and then only the home games. But I always enjoyed the pageantry so much.

"I've always just loved the premise of high school football. Some coaches are constantly screwing the thing up by recruiting kids. But it's always supposed to be our town against your town -- and I love that principle."

Plant attended New Castle High School but didn't play football. He graduated in 1952, and his streak of games started that fall.

He has three sons (Jeff, Steve and David) between the ages of 49 and 55. They played a variety of sports at Mohawk High School, but not football.

"That's the only reason I could keep going to New Castle games," Plant said.

He worked 37 years at Youngstown Sheet & Tube before retiring. Plant almost missed a New Castle WPIAL semifinal playoff game on a Saturday afternoon at Pitt Stadium in 1977 because he had the flu.

"I shouldn't have gone anywhere, but I did," he said. "I still remember the score. We lost, 14-2 [to Penn Hills]. Bill Fralic was a freshman playing for Penn Hills. I was so sick that it was Monday before I cared we lost."

Plant is somewhat of a New Castle football historian. He knows scores of games from years ago and how many championships New Castle has won. He has index cards of conference standings dating to the 1950s.

He talks about great New Castle players, like Bruce Clarke and Rick Razzano, who both played in the NFL. He considers Beaver Falls' Joe Namath and Hopewell's Tony Dorsett as the two best New Castle opponents he has seen.

"Namath just handed off the ball, but he's the only quarterback that's ever fooled me with his handoffs and I never knew who had the ball," Plant said. "I'll never forget Dorsett playing up here in the early 1970s. We held him to his lowest rushing total all season. But he still killed us because he picked off a pass and ran it for a touchdown, ran a punt back for a touchdown and caught a pass for a touchdown. I think we lost, 21-20."

These days, Plant is so enthralled with New Castle football that he attends some practices and even junior high games.

"We've got some athletes coming up," Plant said.

Just another reason to keep the streak going.