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MOORHEAD, Minn. – When the streak began, Lyndon Johnson was president. Postage stamps cost $.05. The top grossing movie in the United States was The Graduate. And it was the year of the first Super Bowl.

Larry Scott worked his first Minnesota State University Moorhead football game in 1967. He hasn't missed a game since. On Saturday at Northern State, his streak of working consecutive Dragon football games will hit a big milestone – 500.

"Larry Scott is an icon for the Dragons," MSUM athletic director Doug Peters said. "When you think about 500 straight football games and begin to translate that to how many student-athletes he has impacted — it is mind-boggling."

"Scotty" as he has been known to Dragon coaches, fans and athletes for decades, was MSUM's sports information director from 1969-2009. Prior to that, he had worked as a statistician for Dragon football games. After retiring from the SID position in 2009, Scotty became a game analyst for Dragon football broadcasts.

The streak has spanned almost 50 years and nine U.S. presidents.  

"I never began with any kind of numbers in mind," Scott said. "It's always been fun following the Dragons. As the years piled up, we took notice. I never looked at that in advance."

Scotty traveled with the Dragons on every road trip, which included many hours of bus trips.

"I was able to be there and follow the teams. I am appreciative that I've been able to do that," Scott said.

While there are dozens of memories during the 500-game streak, Scotty highlighted a few:
--In 1971, in Coach Ross Fortier's second year, MSUM faced Michigan Tech and recorded a 6-0 upset win.
"It rained for about three days," Scott said. "The field was nothing but mud. We were able to upset them. That kind of started the Fortier years going."

--The 1981 Dragons (10-1-1), considered one of the best teams in school history, was dominant. The team shut out six opponents, including five straight. The fifth straight shutout was a 29-0 blanking of Minnesota Duluth.
"We were ranked No. 1 in the country, and we played at Minnesota Duluth and beat them 29-0," Scott said. "It was a marvelous game and it put us into the playoffs."

--In 1991, MSUM finished 10-2 and qualified for the playoffs. A highlight was a thrilling 30-26 win over Southwest State in the team's ninth game.
"We scored on the last play of the game, and we beat Southwest State when they were unbeaten," Scott said.

--Of course, there was the crosstown rivalry with the Concordia Cobbers. The teams met 86 times from 1916 to 2007 with many memorable games. Concordia holds the series lead 49-25-12.
"Certainly, Dragon-Cobber games of yesteryear, they were magical," Scott said. "There were huge crowds. It was a great rivalry."

Scott recently wrote a book about the Ross Fortier coaching years at MSUM. For four decades, he oversaw operations in the press box, coordinating game-day statistics and working with the local media.

"You always wanted to be the best host you could," Scott said.

The Alexandria, Minn., native is a member of the NSIC Hall of Fame, the MSUM Sports Hall of Fame and the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.

Even after nearly five decades and dozens of bus trips, Scotty still loves following the Dragons.

"Jumping on a bus with players and coaches you really like, it is still pretty exciting," Scott said. "I enjoy the road trips. You learn a lot about the players and coaches when you travel with them. I'm extremely proud of this current team – the coaches and players, and how they act and the great care they have for each other is evident. They are very professional.
"I enjoy it. You still feel like you're part of it, which is nice."