Basketball players, coaches, winning and losing teams have come and gone at Butler County Community College.

There has been one constant: Walter Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick, 62, has been the official scorer for BC3 basketball games since the 1968-69 season - the program's second year of existence.

The team played only four games during its first year under coach Chuck Dunaway.

"The schedule expanded for that second year and Chuck asked me if I'd be willing to keep the book for him," Fitzpatrick said. "I was always interested in basketball and thought it'd be fun, so I did it."

And he hasn't stopped.

Fitzpatrick has missed only 10 games in 37 seasons, and those were because of academic commitments. He is a full-time professor of social sciences at the college.

He has kept the book for all six head coaches - Dunaway, Tom Beckett, Ted Labay, Bob Barlett, Dick Hartung and current coach Tony Grenek - in the program's history.

"The word to describe Walter is loyal to the core," Hartung said. "When I took over as coach, he said he'd do the book for me for a year, then get out. He wound up doing it 16 years for me.

"I'm not surprised he's still doing it. He loves kids, loves the game and loves that college," he added.

Fitzpatrick said that hanging around the kids "keeps me in touch with them. We've had so many good kids come through this school and I've enjoyed getting to know them."

Fitzpatrick was the scorekeeper for more than 20 years without being paid a dime.

"He got dinner at McDonalds on road trips - if we stopped," Hartung said.

He underwent a quadruple bypass in 2000 and didn't miss any games. He was a victim of an automobile accident in late August of last year, suffering a broken neck, an orbital fracture and a blood clot in his head.

Again, he didn't miss any games."When I heard about that accident, I was worried we weren't going to have Fitzie this year," Grenek said. "I can't imagine this program without him."I should have known better. The guy is 62 years old, drinks 25 Cokes a day and he's in better shape than I am," the coach said.Fitzpatrick was thrown 50 feet from his vehicle during the accident. Nancy Fitzpatrick, his wife of 35 years, suffered a serious back injury in the crash."My injuries were more life threatening - in fact, the doctor told me he couldn't believe I was alive," Fitzpatrick said. "But I was able to recover quicker than my wife. Her back injury developed complications and she just had surgery on it."Fitzpatrick continues working the Pioneer games, though he had to be driven to and from the BC3 Field House during the early season."I wasn't allowed to drive," he said. "But I could still work."Fitzpatrick said he's developed lasting friendships through basketball, including opponents. CCAC-Allegheny coach Bill Shay has been coaching that program as long as Fitzpatrick has been at the scorer's table."That man is a rarity," Shay said. "He's everything that's right about education and college athletics."It's strange because our scorebook has been kept by Don Vescio for 30 years. He and Walter are two of the best in the business.""Fitzie never makes a mistake," Grenek agreed. "Never."He's not afraid of a challenge, either.Heavy snow was falling one day when the Pioneers were scheduled to play a game in upstate New York."(Athletic director) Chuck Dunaway and (assistant coach) Bill Miller wouldn't make the trip because they were afraid their pipes would freeze while we were gone. That's how cold it was," Hartung said. "They were trying to talk me out of going."I left it up to Walter. I had to have another adult with me to go up there. Walter looked at me and said, 'We're going.' We drove through whiteout conditions and there wasn't any fans there, but we played that game."Fitzpatrick never played any sports in his younger days."I never had the body or abilities for it," he said. "I always had the interest in it."He said the best player he's ever seen in a Pioneer uniform was Barry Whetzel of New Castle."He was a point guard and he could do everything," Fitzpatrick said.His most memorable game was an overtime win over CCAC Allegheny in 1979-80 that landed the Pioneers in the state championship game.Gary Peaco scored the winning bucket with two seconds left."We weren't even supposed to be in that game," Fitzpatrick said. "They beat us by 45 during the regular season."How much longer will Fitzpatrick man the book at courtside?"I'm not looking to retire for three or four more years yet, so it will at least be that long," he said. "It's part of what I do here.""You can't count on a lot of things these days, but you can always count on Mr. Fitzpatrick," Grenek said. "He's always behind this program. He is Butler County Community College basketball."