CALGARY -- Staff at a bar where a man spent his final hours along with his longtime friends have been left devastated by his death, which is being probed by homicide detectives.

Police arrested a 27-year-old man, but no charges have been laid in the death of Brian Ludwig, 41, who died in hospital following a fight that broke out in a parking lot outside Swigs Pub and Grill at 2:50 a.m. Sunday.

Ludwig was at the pub Saturday night enjoying dinner with fellow golfers after the 3rd annual Swigs Open Charity golf tournament at the River's Edge Golf Course that raises money for the Cederbrae Community Centre, one of the bar's owners said.

"He was a lovely man -- they (he and his wife) are really nice people. This is really awful," Karen Wade said.

She said staff at the close-knit bar have been left traumatized by what happened.

Family declined comment when reached Monday.

Longtime friend Paul Hughes went to the University of Calgary with Ludwig, where the two were pledge brothers at the same fraternity, and went on to coach the Airdrie Xtreme hockey team together.

Hughes also coached him in junior hockey with the NWCBAA Stampeders.

"He and I and a few of us, we were inseparable," he said.
Ludwig grew up in Chestermere and moved to Calgary, studying commerce at the U of C, and was a great athlete, excelling at hockey, swimming and golf, Hughes said.

"And he was a jack of all trades he could fix anything," he said.

The two went their separate ways but reconnected last year when their children took part in the same ski program at Canada Olympic Park.

"He was doing well, straight up a family man, committed to his children," he said.

Hughes said he was a people person who also had a lot of friends who are now in shock at his untimely death.

"He was just an amazing guy and he just brought a smile to everybody's face, he helped everybody he could," Hughes said.

Hearing that his friend died after a fight, Hughes said Ludwig was not afraid of anything and would come to anyone's defence.

"He also had a big heart so if somebody was being cheesy with somebody and saying something rude, he'd step in," he said.

"He might get involved but not because he started it, because he is trying to stop it and break it up, that's the kind of guy Brian was.

"There's no way in the world someone would go square off with Brian -- someone would have to give him a cheap shot and punch him in the back of the head."

His death is still under investigation.

Hughes said Ludwig leaves behind wife Karen, and two young
children.