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Sad-eyed monomaniacal surfer from Valley Ford, California, who, starting in 1975, surfed every day for just over 40 years—a feat of sports endurance that many believe is unequalled. "He doesn't stop," 

 said of Webster's streak in 2008. "It is his burden and his salvation."

Webster was born (1948) and raised in Alhambra, California, began mat-surfing in 1957, and stand-up surfing in 1961. He moved in 1973 to Sonoma County, just north of San Francisco, and two years later—September 2, 1975, to be exact— came up against what turned out to be a solid week of big surf during the soon-to-be-famous "Monster from New Zealand" swell. "I rode all seven days," Webster later recalled, "and then I thought, 'Let's see if I can keep this going.'"

 magazine reported in 1976 that Webster had surfed every day for an entire year, including 121 consecutive days in sub-55-degree water. A surf day, by Webster's own rules, required at least three ridden waves, and the last wave must be surfed all the way to the beach.

In the years that followed, Webster's pursuit kept him from serious employment and from visiting inland relatives. He developed a near phobia about injuries and was afraid to mow the lawn for fear that a rock might fly out of the rotors and strike him. Webster rode under all kinds of adverse conditions: in near-hurricane winds, while sick with the flu, while nursing sprains, cuts, and earaches. Nearly crippled by a kidney stone on one occasion, Webster had his wife carry his board to the water; he gingerly paddled out and rode his three waves, then crawled up the beach and went directly to the hospital. A few years later, he surfed (briefly, each morning) while his wife was dying of cancer.

August 19, 2000, marked the 25th anniversary of Webster's daily wave riding ritual—9,132 consecutive days—and prompted a small burst of national media attention, including profiles in the 

, and on CNN. The 51-year-old Webster was described by the 

 as having "a broad back, long stringy blond hair, and piercing blue eyes that focus on the horizon when he speaks." In a slightly melancholy voice, Webster told the 

 that he often thought about "all the things I'll have missed in life because of this. The only thing I'll have is the memory of riding all those waves."

 (2003). In 2012, the streak still going, Topps issued a Dale Webster trading card as part of their "Worlds Champions" series, calling him "the ultimate California surfer dude."

Webster and his streak have long held a place in the 

In September 2015, the streak hit 40 years. "It’ll die when I die," Webster said. That proved not to be the case, however, as the streak ended just a month later, on October 5, as Webster, 66, went in for a kidney stone operation. The final tally: 14,642 days.

Webster, Dale

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