100 years. 100 things. All about Sid Hartman.
March 14, 2020 at 11:23PM
- 1
- Sid was born March 15, 1920 at 10:15 a.m. in Minneapolis' Asbury Methodist Hospital. He had three siblings — Bernice, Harold and Saul.
- 2
- Sid Hartman's father, Jack Hechtman, immigrated to the U.S. from Russia at age 16 and changed his last name to Hartman after he arrived.
- 3
- His dad was a delivery man and could not read English. Sid never convinced his father, who died in 1972, that pro wrestling was staged.
- 4
- Sid's mother, Celia Weinberg, immigrated from Latvia at age 9. She ran a women's apparel shop.
- 5
- Sid has said his family ate chicken almost every night growing up. He has avoided it ever since.
- 6
- In third grade, he heard a teacher say people should get jobs where they don't watch the clock, that the hours they put in don't mean a thing.
- 7
- Sid played the trumpet in the school band at Minneapolis' Harrison Elementary.
- 8
- His first newspaper job was selling them on street corners in downtown Minneapolis at age 9.
- 9
- Sid sold newspapers and watched Bronko Nagurski carry the ball in 1929. Ninety years later, he covered Rodney Smith topping 4,000 yards.
- 10
- Sid made money hawking newspapers, but lost a lot of that money playing craps in back alleys. He felt guilty and hasn't gambled for more than 70 years.
- 11
- Jack Doyle's restaurant had a gambling operation upstairs. Sid met all the characters; they all had nicknames. His was "Blackie" because of his dark hair.
- 12
- His first newspaper gig was with Lincoln Life, the Lincoln Junior High student paper.
- 13
- Sid dropped out of Minneapolis North High School as a junior and accepted a job in the circulation department of the Minneapolis Tribune in 1936.
- 14
- Sid had a lot of side jobs but was laid off from his circulation job at the Tribune in 1941.
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- He has lived the rest of his newspaper career worried that he was going to get fired.
- 16
- Sid's first car was a 1929 Oldsmobile he bought for $50.
- 17
- After a brief stint selling vacuum cleaners, Sid went to work in the circulation department of the Minneapolis Times.
- 18
- Sid got to know baseball star Ted Williams when Williams played for the minor league Minneapolis Millers in 1938.
- 19
- Williams and Sid became pals, and eventually he would introduce a suspicious Williams to another close friend, Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight.
- 20
- Sid tried to enlist to fight in World War II, but was rejected because he had bad bouts with asthma.
- 21
- Sid was hired by Dick Cullum for the Minneapolis Times sports department in 1944.
- 22
- Sid told Cullum, "I can't spell and my grammar is worse," but Cullum said, "Writers are a dime a dozen … reporters are impossible to find."
- 23
- Sid's first byline in a daily newspaper came in the Minneapolis Times, on Oct. 28, 1944.
- 24
- His first daily newspaper column came in "The Roundup," in the Minneapolis Times, on Sept. 11, 1945.
- 25
- Gophers football coach Bernie Bierman didn't like reporters much, but Sid got a lot of his scoops from trainer Lloyd "Snapper" Stein.
- 26
- Sid and former Vikings coach Bud Grant are best friends. They bonded when Bud was a student athlete at the U of M and Sid would take Bud out for dinner.
- 27
- In June of 1947, Sid helped bring professional basketball to Minneapolis when Ben Berger and Maurice Chalfen purchased the Detroit Gems.
- 28
- The three of them relocated the Gems to Minneapolis, where the team became the Lakers.
- 29
- Chalfen wanted Sid to quit his newspaper job and be the team's general manager, but Sid wouldn't leave.
- 30
- Sid lined up local boxing promoter Max Winter to become the official GM of the Lakers, although Sid arranged a lot of the personnel moves.
- 31
- "Those were the days," Sid said, "where newspaper guys didn't make much money, so there was no such thing as conflict of interest ..."
- 32
- When the Minneapolis Times folded, Sid went to work for the Minneapolis Tribune. His first byline was on May 19, 1948.
- 33
- As the acting GM of the Lakers, he helped the franchise become the NBA's first dynasty.
- 34
- To land free agent superstar George Mikan, Sid was in charge of making sure Mikan missed his flight so the Lakers had more time to woo him.
- 35
- Sid drove Mikan to the airport, but went north to Anoka and Mikan never got on a plane. He signed the next day for $12,000.
- 36
- With the legendary Mikan, the Lakers won NBA titles in 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953 and 1954.
- 37
- Sid's first radio job was in the early 1950s at WLOL-AM. He did pregame and halftime interviews during Gopher football games.
- 38
- Sid began contributing to WCCO radio in 1955. He remains one of 'CCO's most recognizable voices.
- 39
- In 1957, Sid Hartman was named the Sports Editor of the Minneapolis Tribune.
- 40
- While he was sports editor, Sid wrote six columns a week. He'll still write four in a week these days during the Vikings season.
- 41
- "I tried to outwork everybody," Sid said. "I never had more fun than when I was working."
- 42
- Sid left his job with the Lakers in 1957 after Bob Short bought the team.
- 43
- Sid got the "scoop" of the decade in 1957 when he reported the formation of Control Data, a major computer company in the U.S. for the next 20 years.
- 44
- Short would move the Lakers to Los Angeles in 1960, just as Minnesota was lining up other pro sports franchises.
- 45
- After years of behind-the-scenes work to get a major league baseball team to Minnesota, Sid and others were successful.
- 46
- On Halloween Day in 1960 it was announced the Washington Senators were moving to Minnesota to become the Twins.
- 47
- The NFL also announced in 1960 that it would award an expansion franchise to Minnesota for the 1961 season, giving birth to the Vikings.
- 48
- Sid's close friend and business partner Winter was one of five owners of the team.
- 49
- The first coach of the Vikings, Norm Van Brocklin, nicknamed Sid "Cyanide Sid." The team's longtime trainer, Fred Zamberletti, called Sid "Cyanide" as a joke.
- 50
- Sid was part of a group that bought a 1961 NBA expansion team in Chicago, the Packers. They eventually became today's Washington Wizards.
- 51
- Sid covered the Super Bowl for the first time in 1970 (Super Bowl IV — Vikings vs. Chiefs).
- 52
- Between 1970 and 2001, he covered every Super Bowl but two (1990 and 1993). He's covered 31 Super Bowls.
- 53
- He served as the Twin Cities rep to the Pro Football Hall of Fame committee for decades. The committee meets the day before Super Bowls to consider nominees.
- 54
- He was famous for his insistence with the committee that they were foolish if they didn't induct former Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff.
- 55
- Before Super Bowl XLI in 2007, Sid asked Vikings media relations director Bob Hagan if Hagan could set up a meeting with that year's halftime performer.
- 56
- Sid and Hagan got behind the scenes at a press briefing. "Hey, Prince!" Sid yelled. "Hello, Mr. Hartman," Prince said.
- 57
- Sid did a daily show for many years called "Today's Sports Hero" for WCCO Radio.
- 58
- Sid's most notable "Today's Sports Hero" interview was when he followed Jets quarterback Joe Namath, into a shower for an interview.
- 59
- In 1981, Dave Mona joined Sid at WCCO (830 AM) for a Sunday morning sports show that has continued to this day.
- 60
- A big scoop came in 1974 when Sid reported Ara Parseghian would step down as Notre Dame coach. His source: Dan Devine, Ara's replacement.
- 61
- When Sid learned newly hired wordsmith Ira Berkow, on assignment at the Kentucky Derby, had "talked" with Citation: "He interviewed a HORSE!"
- 62
- Spring training reporters were puzzled as to how Sid would always scoop the Twins' final roster. His source: Ray Crump, who got names sown on jerseys.
- 63
- In 1994, Bud Grant was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His presenter was Sid.
- 64
- Steve Cannon of WCCO coined the term "close personal friends" for famous people Sid liked to name-drop.
- 65
- When Sid calls out to you, "Hey, genius!" it's not a compliment.
- 66
- He makes a habit of sending thank you notes to famous people he interviewed. They are sincere, and often resulted in him getting well-guarded phone numbers.
- 67
- Sid was known throughout his career for his misspellings of people's names. He called Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell "Orville Berville."
- 68
- He also had some radio doozies, including mistaking Olympic figure skating gold medalist Tara Lipinski for Monica Lewinsky.
- 69
- Once he chastised a radio caller by saying, "You're from Chicago, what do you know about Minnesota sports?" The caller was from Chisago City.
- 70
- In an interview with Vikings receiver Cris Carter, Carter said he talked to God every day. "What do you talk about?" Sid asked.
- 71
- His great hope is to see the Gophers return to the Rose Bowl, something that almost happened last year.
- 72
- Bud Grant once said Sid has no idea how cars work, other than they need gas.
- 73
- Sid and Bud were driving to Superior, Wis. one night. Flat tire. No spare. Remote area. Sid started rushing toward a light. "Long walk, Sid," Bud said. "That's the moon."
- 74
- Sid had a Sinatra CD in his Cadillac. "Why haven't you been listening?'' someone asked. Sid confessed to not knowing how to open the CD package.
- 75
- Sid especially hated getting "scooped" by someone he worked with, to the point of telling athletes not to talk to writers from the Star Tribune.
- 76
- His chief "rival" was Patrick Reusse … but he respected Reusse enough to ask him to write his biography.
- 77
- Sid has yelled at referees during games. He was especially loud when sitting at courtside. For some reasons, referees ended up liking him. Well, some of them.
- 78
- Bobby Knight is one of Sid's closest personal friends. They met when Knight coached at Army.
- 79
- Among other "close personal friends" — Lou Holtz, George Steinbrenner and Howard Cosell.
- 80
- Sid's lifelong friend Al Rubinger passed away in 2016 at age 95. They were also business partners in real estate, and Sid considered him a brother.
- 81
- Al and Sid started their partnership by buying a lunch counter business in 1940 when Al was 19 and Sid was 20.
- 82
- Sid was married to the former Barbara Balfour from 1964-1972.
- 83
- Barbara had a daughter, Chris, when they got married and their son Chad was born in 1965.
- 84
- Sid's son Chad went into broadcast journalism and now has a daily show on WCCO Radio.
- 85
- Sid has five grandchildren.
- 86
- Sid hates elevators. In the old Star Tribune building, he always took the stairs. In the new Star Tribune building, he got stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes.
- 87
- The Baseball Writers Association of America issues cards to members each year. Sid is now No. 1 in seniority.
- 88
- In 2003, Sid was inducted into the media wing of the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., by receiving the Curt Gowdy Award.
- 89
- Starting in 1996, Sid was a panelist on the television show "Sports Show with Mike Max," for 20 years, joining Max, Dark Star and Patrick Reusse.
- 90
- Sid was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2003.
- 91
- On Oct. 10, 2010, a statue of Sid was unveiled outside of Target Center.
- 92
- The media entrance at U.S. Bank Stadium is named after Sid, and the press box at the U's TCF Bank Stadium is named after Sid.
- 93
- In 2019, Sid was elected to the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame.
- 94
- The University of Minnesota has had 15 men's athletic directors since Sid started covering the Gophers in 1944.
- 95
- In good health until his late 90s, Sid broke a hip and had surgery three years ago, and now uses a walker. Sid stopped driving at age 95.
- 96
- Sid has a nickname for almost everyone in the office. Mr. Shirts, Mr. Discipline, Mrs. Sporting Goods, Mr. Everywhere, Mr. Mortuary, Mr. Internet, Mr. Whatchamacallit.
- 97
- Sid always greets Tony Oliva by shouting "Mr. America,'' and then accusing him of having all his money buried in the backyard.
- 98
- Sid still makes the interview rounds, especially at the U, Vikings offices and Twins games. He comes into the office four days a week to write his columns.
- 99
- For decades, Sid used a huge tape recorder. His interviews are now recorded on iPhones and he works those transcribed interviews into column form.
- 100
- Sid has had 21,149 bylines. If a columnist started today and wanted to match Sid, it would take them, writing every day, 58 years.
See who reporters David La Vaque and Jim Paulsen pick as winners in these clashes: Edina-Maple Grove, Alexandria-Armstrong, Minnetonka-Blaine, Mounds View-Shakopee and Chanhassen-St. Thomas Academy.
