![Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck gave Sid Hartman a custom jersey and helmet for his 99th birthday Friday. ] Aaron Lavinsky ¥ aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team held an open practice on Friday, March 15, 2019 at the Athletes Village's Football Indoor Practice Facility in Minneapolis, Minn.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/BLVUGN37XLFU7JDYI6DOPCBPGY.jpg?&w=1080&ar=3/2&fit=crop)
Minnesota has a number of one-name stars in its history, and Sid is one of them. No Hartman needed.
The unstoppable newspaperman and iconic radio voice who predates, well, almost all of Minnesota's sports history, was still working nearly every day — early mornings, late nights and all things sports in between — after his 99th birthday in 2019.
"Sid has seen it all in Minnesota sports. And he has done it all, too," former Star Tribune sports editor Glen Crevier said in 2018 while announcing Hartman's induction into the Hall. "As a columnist, Sid has a unique voice. He's never been about criticizing athletes or coaches. Instead, he prefers to reach important newsmakers and let them tell their stories. This is his winning formula."
Hartman, born in north Minneapolis on March 15, 1920, transcends both sports and journalism, having become a one-name icon in the state sometime midcareer. He has been a columnist, an editor, a WCCO radio man, a power broker, even a team executive with the Minneapolis Lakers and franchise dealmaker. Pretty good for a guy who started in the business selling newspapers at two-cent-profits a pop as a 9-year-old.One of the most memorable "Sidisms" is referring to another big shot in sports as a "close personal friend." There were several other CPFs in attendance when Hartman became the 73rd inductee and sole member of the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.
"I think I covered every one of them," Hartman said after hearing the news and reading over the Hall names. "I really appreciate this."
Joel Rippel is on the Star Tribune sports editing team, and took on the daunting task of checking Sid's stats. Sid's byline started appearing in earlier incarnations of the Star Tribune in the 1940s, and right around Sid's 99th birthday he eclipsed 21,000 bylines.
That's an astonishing number of news stories and game reports and columns — and, as Sid knows, an astonishing amount of copy editing.
SID HARTMAN
