paid well and got Hartman out of the vacuum business. In 1944 Hartman got an even bigger break when Mohs recommended him to Times sports editor and columnist Dick Cullum, who was looking for a sports desk intern. Cullum hired Hartman, the beginning of a sports writing career that would last over 75 years. Minneapolis Lakers As a 27-year-old in 1947, Hartman became the acting general manager of the Minneapolis Lakers. Hartman helped build what would become the first dynasty in the NBA. Sports columnist 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." The columns he wrote were strong on reporting, while the writing was less admired. Dick Cullum, Hartman's first editor, explained it this way: "Writers are a dime a dozen, but reporters are impossible to find." Steve Rushin of Sports Illustrated observed that "English sometimes appears to be his second language." 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. Tributes 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. The University of Minnesota renamed the press box at its