Brian Hartmann, the subject of Patrick Reusse's column last Sunday, died Thursday from a rare brain disease. Hartmann, 51, was the youngest of eight siblings in a large family known well in sports and social circles in Arlington, Minn. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare brain disorder that is always fatal, took his life.
The Hartmann family recently accompanied Brian to his induction in the Arlington A's Hall of Fame. Brian for years was a slugger with the Hamel Hawks.
"Brian was in Hamel's Hall of Fame, but he also wanted this," Brian's brother Dave told Reusse. "He played for the A's for a number of years. He wanted the three brothers to be together in the Arlington Hall of Fame."
