Silencing a sports icon

What a marathon!
That’s about the best way to describe the remarkable career of a sports icon that became a household name with Minnesotans for decades. Sid Hartman, who will likely go down as putting together the longest career in the newspaper and radio professions ever, died Oct. 18 at the age of 100.
Sid has been a fixture in our household for as long as I’ve been alive and then some. Well, okay maybe a lot more. I grew up listening to Sid on WCCO and read his sports columns in the Minneapolis Star Tribune where he wrote for 75 years. He had only been on the radio for 65 years.
Sid was a kid from north Minneapolis who dropped out of high school to deliver newspapers before becoming general manager of an emerging NBA dynasty and a media icon covering and influencing Minnesota sports for more than seven decades.
It has been fun listening to all the people and sports heroes that crossed paths with Sid over the years throughout the past week on WCCO and in the Star Tribune. Without a doubt, he has had a lasting impact on the sports scene in Minnesota for decades. He wasn’t afraid to take on political leaders in his quest to bring stadiums to Minnesota.
One of my favorite outtakes that WCCO played several times over the past week was when Sid tried unsuccessfully many times to introduce Martina Navratilova, a tennis legend. There were bleeps covering up some choice cuss words Sid used in frustration with his inability to say her last name.
A favorite story came from former Vikings coach Bud Grant, who was a very close friend of Sid’s. Sid and Bud were driving to Superior, Wis., one night to visit Bud’s folks. Flat tire, no spare, remote area. Sid began rushing toward a light. “Long walk, Sid,” Bud said. “That’s the moon.”
I also loved the story about Sid stopping at a lutefisk dinner in Kenyon on his way back from Rochester with WCCO’s Dave Lee. Sid didn’t want to stop, but Lee made him any way. And once Sid realized there was an important political figure there, he didn’t want to leave.
As a sports columnist, Sid had 21,235 bylines. If a columnist started today and wanted to match Sid, it would take that person, writing every day, 58 years.
Sid had a work ethic that will likely never be matched again. He loved what he did and he loved informing readers and listeners through print and radio. It’s only fitting that his last column ran on the day he died.
One thing became clear as I took in all the Sid stories last week. Sid was the one and the only. There will never be another one of him again!
Thanks, Sid for going in hot pursuit of being a close, personal friend to radio listeners and newspaper readers for all these years. Rest well, Sid. You deserve it.