BUTLER TWP — Ed Hartman lost his life 28 years ago.

For the second consecutive year, his legacy will be revisited Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.

Hartman, a stellar three-sport athlete at Butler, will be one of nine inductees entering the Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame that evening.

“Ed Hartman is one of the finest human beings I've ever met in my life,” fellow inductee and former Golden Tornado football teammate Rodger Puz said.

Hartman was recognized on the field last year by the Butler Football Hometown Hero program.

“I hope this is accepted OK by everybody,” his mother, Ruth Hartman said. “Two straight years like this is really amazing. And I know he's being inducted in some great company this year.”

Hartman was killed in an automobile accident on May 27, 1983, the night before he was to marry his high school sweetheart.

He was only 22 — but made the most of those 22 years.

Geneva College, where Hartman started at quarterback for three years and was planning to attend graduate school there to play a fourth, presents the Eddie Hartman Memorial Award annually for outstanding Christian character.

“He was like a son to me,” retired Geneva football coach Gene Sullivan said last year. “That award has always been the most cherished one we present.”

Hartman lettered in football, basketball and track at Butler. He played in back-to-back WPIAL championship games. He was a stellar guard on the basketball team and still owns the Butler County record time of four minutes, 17 seconds in the 1,600 meters, set in 1978.

Hartman was selected NAIA All-American in 1981 with Geneva and produced 3,224 yards of total offense in his career there.

His father, Ed Hartman Sr., was a standout quarterback at Wilkinsburg High School, attended Arizona State University on a track scholarship and wound up playing football at Westminster College.

“Eddie probably didn't appreciate all of the athletic skills he had as much as his father did,” Mrs. Hartman said. “His father was his biggest fan.”

Hartman's football career began in third grade, when he asked his parents if he could try out for the Meridian Raiders of the Butler Area Midget Football League.

“After a week of practice, he wanted to quit,” his mother said, laughing. “He didn't want to be bossed around.

“We told him he had to stick it out until the end of the season. If he still didn't like it then, he didn't have to go back. After the next week or so, he loved it.”

The rest is history.

“They made him a quarterback and that's where he stayed,” Mrs. Hartman said.

She added that she's always been proud of her son for who he was off the athletic field.

“Sports gave Eddie such good role models and he used them to shape himself as a person,” Mrs. Hartman said. “Once kids get to high school, they wind up in different social groups and drift away from everybody else.

“Eddie had friends across the board. He helped build bridges the best he could. I've always been proud of him for things like that.”

A reception for all nine of the Hall of Fame inductees will take place at 5 p.m. Friday in the high school cafeteria. The inductees will also be recognized on the field prior to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff vs. Canon McMillan.