Count the number of times in life you’ve met somebody totally selfless — somebody who always puts others before himself.

You won’t need more than one hand. Those people are rare indeed.

Andy Hilliard was one of those people.

Andy supported Butler area athletics like few have before him or since. He died last weekend, in the wee hours of the morning after celebrating his 70th birthday.

When word got out about his declining health, Andy received nearly 50 birthday cards from well-wishers. Those people were like a who-who in Butler sports.

Tim O’Malley, Dess Schnur, Olivia Bresnahan, Bill Tack, the entire Butler girls basketball team ... The list goes on as card after card was read to him.

This guy touched a lot of lives.

He provided transportation for kids to practice and games for decades.

He served as equipment manager for the Butler Area School District for more than 30 years.

He was a league commissioner for Butler County American Legion Baseball for 20 years.

He served as manager of the Elks Pony League baseball team and was a Butler Baseball Association board member for 15 years.

He coached football, baseball and basketball in this area for many years and was a high school basketball official.

Late in his life, Andy was a constant in the stands at Butler sporting events.

As long as he was physically able, he’d show up, proudly donning his Butler football jacket and usually a Yankees baseball cap.

In fact, that jacket and a Yankees, Pullman Park and Butler BlueSox cap were placed in the casket with him.

Andy’s parents owned a local drug store and supported Butler baseball from the 1930’s through the 1950’s. That’s where Andy’s support of the program started.

Always a big New York Yankees fan, Andy talked about that team repeatedly when I’d run across him at Butler games. I’d tease him about it, asking him how a down-to-earth guy like himself could be a fan of the high-priced, glamorous Yankees.

He answered: “Because they were here,” making reference to the Butler Yankees minor league team that called Pullman Park home decades ago.

Andy was a fixture at Pullman Park as well, attending games there from the 1940’s through last year. It didn’t take him long to become a Butler BlueSox fan.

If it had the word Butler in front of it, this man supported it.

Andy probably enjoyed watching Butler win — and was torn up by Butler losses — more than anyone I’ve ever met in this town.

He was community-minded and dedicated his life to making the athletic experience of Butler youths that much better.

Physically, Andy Hilliard is gone now.

But every time the national anthem is played at Pullman Park, the Butler gym or Art Bernardi Stadium, that man’s heart beats on.