Сидни Хартман: Минесота спортының дауысы

American sports journalist (1920–2020)

Sidney Hartman (March 15, 1920October 18, 2020) was an American sports journalist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the WCCO 830 AM radio station. For 20 years, he was also a panelist on the weekly television program Sports Show with Mike Max, which aired Sunday nights at 9:30 p. m. on WUCW 23 in the Twin Cities metro area. He continued writing for the Star Tribune until his death in 2020.

Hartman was born at Maternity Hospital on Glenwood Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 15, 1920. He grew up in a Jewish family in north Minneapolis. His father, Jack Hechtman, was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States at age 16,

Jack Hartman could neither read nor write and suffered from alcoholism. Celia Hartman owned an apparel store on the north side of Minneapolis and also did the bookkeeping for Jack Hartman's delivery business. Hartman attended Talmud Torah Jewish School from age 10 to 14, before enrolling at Minneapolis North High School. Hartman attended Minneapolis North High School but dropped out his junior year when he received a lucrative news run for delivering the Minneapolis Tribune. For a brief time, Hartman became a vacuum salesman, but the occupation did not suit him. In his autobiography, Hartman conceded that he was "the world's worst vacuum cleaner salesman." In the early 1940s, Hartman got a key break from Louie Mohs, the circulation manager of the Minneapolis Times.

Hartman was a popular, widely read and widely heard sports columnist throughout his career. For seven decades, Hartman served as the "radio and print voice of Minnesota sports." On September 11, 1945, Hartman wrote his first column for Minneapolis' Star Tribune newspaper and would continue writing columns with the newspaper until his death in 2020. From 1955 until his death, Hartman also appeared as a radio sportscaster and commentator on Minneapolis' WCCO Radio. One of the elements of his style – often caricatured by local comics and other radio personalities – was his habit while interviewing a sports figure of referring to him or her as "my close personal friend". Over the years, his "close personal friends" have included George Steinbrenner, Bob Knight, Lou Holtz, and Carl Yastrzemski.

A statue of Hartman was unveiled outside of Target Center in downtown Minneapolis on October 10, 2010. The Minnesota Vikings honored Hartman by naming the media entrance at U. S. Bank Stadium after him, with photos of Hartman adorning the media entrance of U. S. Bank Stadium. They also named the interview room at their new practice facility in Eagan, Minnesota, in honor of him. Moreover, a pizza – the Sid's Special – was named in tribute to him at the Italian restaurant Vescio's in Dinkytown, Minneapolis (closed in March 2018). A statue of Hartman is also located outside Target Field. In addition to having at U. S. Bank Stadium named in his honor, Hartman would also have media rooms at Target Field named in his honor as well.

Hartman's name was among tens of thousands on Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff's client list. It is not publicly known how much money, if any, Hartman lost with Madoff when the $50 billion fraud was exposed late in 2008. Hartman married Barbara Balfour in 1964. They later divorced in 1972. He also had an adopted daughter, Chris Schmitt. He underwent surgery to repair his hip the following day. As a result, Hartman announced his columns would be placed on hiatus. Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew described Hartman as his "buddy" and "the only guy that I trusted when I was [in Minnesota], that I could talk to and not worry about it."