One of nine children, Mart is remembered by friends from his youth as a man who always loved sports.  Baseball was always a favorite, and although Tardani was never blessed with outstanding athletic skills, he was always a participant and the team statistician in neighborhood games.

A 1938 graduate of Muskegon St. Joseph, Tardani found full-time work at Lakey Foundry following a two-year stint at the Muskegon College of Business.  A timekeeper for Lakey’s during the day, Tardani worked as a freelance reporter at night and on weekends.  In 1961, after 21 years at the foundry, he accepted a full-time sports writing position with the Muskegon Chronicle.

Tardani felt a rapport with the West Michigan community and tales from his own life were often interspersed among his sports reporting.  His coverage of the local sports scene included numerous features on the sports heroes of yesterday.  Filled with anecdotes, his writings offered many the chance to relive the glory days of Muskegon’s varied sports scene.  During the high school football season his columns predicting the week’s winners were heavily read, as well as a source of inspiration for numerous prep squads.

Coverage of the Newaygo girls basketball team’s march to the 1984 state championship, as well as coverage of three World Series were personal highlights of his career.  His sensitive text covering a cancer-stricken athlete, as well as an article about the untimely death of another athlete won awards.

On January 1, 1988, Tardani retired from The Chronicle, but not from sports writing.  He continued covering events and writing features for the paper until his death in August of 1990.