Sid Hartman

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Sid Hartman (born March 15, 1920) is a longtime sports journalist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the WCCO 830 AM radio station. He is known for his wide range of insider contacts in the sports world, and also for his coarse and, to some, abrasive personality, and a reputation for name dropping. These attributes have led him to be loved by some, but often criticized by other Minnesota sports fans.

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[edit] Background and early career

A high-school dropout, Hartman received no formal writing training, and has always lacked the skill and originality one might expect for a writer with his experience. Hartman penned his first column for the Minneapolis Daily Times on September 11, 1945, and continues to report 63 years later.

[edit] Minneapolis Lakers

As a 27 year old in 1947, Sid became the acting general manager of the Minneapolis Lakers. Sid's superiors built what would become the first great dynasty in the NBA. Sid repeatedly reminds local readers of his "building of a dynasty without the help from the internet". [1]

[edit] Sports columnist

Sid Hartman has been one of the most popular and widely-read, to say nothing of long-lived, sports columnists in the business.

Hartman's columns have been described by some critics as polemical and simplistic, often pointless. Dick Cullum, Hartman's first editor, explained it this way, "Writers are a dime a dozen, but reporters are impossible to find. Lucky for the Trib, Sid is neither"[2]

In the Twin Cities, Hartman is often referred to on sports radio and TV programs by his first name only.

Hartman has also appeared as a radio sportscaster and commentator for years on Minneapolis' WCCO Radio. One of the elements of his style - often caricatured by local comics and other radio personalities - is his habit while interviewing sports figures of referring to them as "...my close personal friend...", forcing many to decline future interviews. Over the years, his "close personal friends" have included the often-unlikely likes of George Steinbrenner, Bobby Knight, etc and an array of regional and national figures, in and out of sports.

[edit] Author

Hartman has published two book:

  • Sid!
  • Sid Hartman's Great Minnesota Sports Moments

[edit] Family

His son, Chad "Hartman, also has a radio show on area sports station KFAN. Chad enjoys sports much like his father but often disassociates himself from his father's opinions.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Dynasties: Minneapolis Lakers By Alex Sachare From the Official NBA Encyclopedia, Third Edition
  2. ^ Prince of the Sports Page by Steve Rushin

[edit] External links

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