Kevin Eugene Hartman (born May 25, 1974) is an American former soccer player who played 17 seasons in Major League Soccer, being on the field for a record 37,260 minutes. Nicknamed ''El Gato'' (Spanish for "the cat") because of his agility, reflexes, physical qualities, and shot-stopping ability, Hartman has more saves than any other

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

in MLS history, and was the

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regular ...

in 1999. Considered to be one of the greatest and most successful goalkeepers in MLS history, he was also known for his longevity.

Career

Youth and college

Hartman attended Radford High School in

Radford, Virginia Radford (formerly Lovely Mount, Central City, English Ferry and Ingle's Ferry) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of 2020, the population was 16,070 by the United States Census Bureau. For statistical purposes, the Bureau ...

, where he made the school's varsity team and served as backup goalkeeper in 1989. As a sophomore, he started for a young Radford High Team that went 1–12, where Hartman once gave up six goals in a half. That Radford High team won the Region IV Title in 1992 over Blacksburg High School and lost in the state semi-finals. RHS would have likely contended for the state title in 1992; however, between his sophomore and junior year at Radford High School, Hartman moved with his family to the

Palos Verdes The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the S ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where he enrolled in

Palos Verdes High School Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, Southern California, USA (the others being Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (formerly Rolling Hills High School) and Rancho ...

, playing on the junior varsity squad for the 1990–1991 season. Before his senior year, Palos Verdes High School merged with Rolling Hills High School and Miraleste High School to form

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is a public high school in Rolling Hills Estates, California, United States. History The school was formed in 1991 when Miraleste High School, Palos Verdes High School, and Rolling Hills High School were merge ...

. As a senior, Hartman played on the Peninsula High School varsity squad, though he only started a few of the games early in the season. Hartman also played on a club team known as the San Pedro FC Santos, headed by Pat Nave of

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

. Known as having a strong work ethic, Hartman often woke up early in the morning to practice in the nearby city of

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. After graduating from high school in the Spring of 1992, Hartman went on to play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. He began his college career at Dominguez Hills, playing there in 1992 and 1993, before transferring to UCLA, where he played in 1995 and 1996, redshirting in 1994.

Professional

LA Galaxy

Hartman was drafted 29th overall in the third round of the

1997 MLS College Draft The 1997 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on February 1 and 2, 1997 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The draft was held in conjunction with the Umbro Select College All-Star Classic. The first round of the draft took place at halftime of th ...

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

. He played very little his rookie year, as he was stuck behind renowned Mexican keeper Jorge Campos. After the season, Hartman, or "El Gato" (dubbed by ''

La Opinión ''La Opinión'' is a Spanish-language daily newspaper and website based in Los Angeles, California. It is the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States and the second-most read newspaper in Los Angeles (after ''The Los Angeles Time ...

'' reporter Ramiro Gonzalez),was selected third overall by Chicago Fire in the expansion draft; the Galaxy quickly reacquired him, however, trading Campos and

Chris Armas Christopher Armas (born August 27, 1972) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. He is currently sharing interim head coach duties at Leeds United with Michael Skubala and Paco Gallardo after the sacking of Jesse Marsch. ...

to the Fire in exchange for Hartman and

Danny Pena Danny Pena (born June 17, 1968, in Inglewood, California) is a retired U.S. soccer defensive midfielder. He spent most of his career, both indoors and outdoors, with teams in the western U.S. Player Youth Pena grew up in Southern California, pl ...

. With Campos in Chicago, Hartman seized the starting job, starting 28 games for the team kept it until his departure from the team, except for a brief period in 2001 when

Matt Reis Matt Reis ( ; born March 28, 1975) is an American former soccer player and coach who played as a goalkeeper. A long-time Major League Soccer mainstay, he has served as goalkeeper coach for LA Galaxy and the United States. Youth and college R ...

briefly took his job. He was named

in 1999 following an especially good season. Hartman helped the Galaxy win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 2000, the U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and 2005, and the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

in 2002 and 2005.

Other MLS teams

After ten years with the Galaxy, Hartman was traded to Kansas City Wizards following the 2006 season. On March 28, 2009, Hartman broke the all-time MLS saves record of 1,136 stops previously held by

Tony Meola Antonio Michael "Tony" Meola (; ; born February 21, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he ...

during a Wizards game against

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

. Kevin left Kansas City when he failed to agree to a new contract extension with the club. Hartman's rights were traded to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

in return for a conditional second round

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 p ...

pick. On September 16, 2010, in a match against

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

, Kevin was injured by Red Bulls striker

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...

, who wanted to kick the ball to celebrate a goal. Henry kicked the ball and the follow through kicked Hartman's foot, causing him an injury. Hartman was named to the MLS Team of Week 8 and 9 in the

2011 MLS season Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

for his consecutive clean sheets against

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

, Philadelphia Union, and

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

. On June 4, 2011, Hartman became the first goalkeeper in MLS history to record 100 shutouts. On July 4, 2012, Hartman played his 400th match in MLS. Following the 2012 MLS season, Hartman's contract was not renewed by FC Dallas. Hartman entered the

2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1) and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the t ...

, and became a free agent after going undrafted in both rounds of the draft. On March 21, 2013, Hartman joined the New York Red Bulls as a free agent saying "to play and also have the opportunity to get into a little bit more of the coaching side of things." Hartman announced his retirement from professional soccer on November 21, 2013.

International

Despite his success in MLS, Hartman saw little time with the United States national team, making only six international appearances. He received his first cap September 8, 1999 in a match against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, while his last international appearance came on February 10, 2006 in a friendly against Japan.

MLS records

* 2nd Most victories of any goalkeeper in MLS history with 180. * Eleventh in MLS in career Goals Against Average (GAA) with a 1.20 (as of 2012-09-11), and career leader in saves (1,453). * First MLS goalkeeper to have consecutive 20-win seasons. * First MLS goalkeeper to have consecutive seasons with a GAA less than 1.0. * Owns the Galaxy record for saves in a game with 12 (set August 20, 2003, vs. Chicago). * Most saves in MLS history.

Honors

Club

Los Angeles Galaxy * CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1):

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

(2): 2001, 2005 * Major League Soccer MLS Cup (2): 2002, 2005 * Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield (2):

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, 2002 * Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship (3):

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, 2002, 2005 FC Dallas * Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship (1): 2010 New York Red Bulls * Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield (1):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Individual

: 1999 *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

: 1999

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartman, Kevin 1974 births Living people People from Athens, Ohio American soccer players Soccer players from Ohio Association football goalkeepers LA Galaxy players Sporting Kansas City players FC Dallas players New York Red Bulls players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros men's soccer players UCLA Bruins men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks People from Palos Verdes, California LA Galaxy non-playing staff