They became known simply as "Sidisms." Those humorous malaprops and mispronunciations that became as much an indelible part of Sid Hartman's long, illustrious career as his scoops and "close personal friends."
Dave Mona, a onetime newspaper reporter and Hartman's longtime Sunday morning radio co-host, once said that the only difference between Yogi Berra and Hartman was that Hartman actually said the things attributed to him.
There was irony in the humor inspired by Sidisms, because most of those who knew Hartman will attest that he was mostly devoid of a sense of humor, especially if the topic was himself.
Sid died Sunday. The Sidisms will live on.
Years ago, during a radio interview with major league umpire Tim Tschida on the difference in philosophies in the American and National Leagues, Hartman posed this question to the St. Paul native: "Isn't the real difference the lack of the umpires' inconsistency?"
Mona grabbed a pen, jotted down the blooper and sent the quote to Sports Illustrated. When the magazine published the item, Mona couldn't wait to inform Hartman, whose reaction can best be described as befuddled.
"I don't think he ever understood why that was funny,''said Mona, who chronicled a number of Hartman's best humorous anecdotes in his book, "Beyond the Sports Huddle."
"When we went to banquets together and I told that joke, we'd walk out afterward and he'd say, kind of sadly, 'How come everybody laughs when we tell that joke?' " Mona said. "Genetically, when they handed out a sense of humor, he didn't get one."