Don Mincher, former general manager of the Huntsville Stars, died March 4 after a lengthy illness. Mincher was 73.

A Huntsville native, Mincher excelled in football and in an ironic twist was offered a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. He passed on the offer to sign with the Chicago White Sox and start his career in American Major League Baseball.

From 1960 to 1972, Mincher played in the American League for the Washington Senators (original and subsequent teams), Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Seattle Pilots, Oakland Athletics (twice) and Texas Rangers. He played with the Oakland Athletics for the 1972 World Series championship.

In 1967 and again in 1969, he was chosen for the American League All-Star team.

Mincher and local investors bought the Huntsville Stars in 1994, guaranteeing that the team would stay in Huntsville. Mincher was the team’s first president and general manager from 1985 to 1998. In 2000, he was named interim president of the Southern League and assumed the title role the next year.

In 2008, Mincher was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. The Huntsville Stars retired no. 5 in his honor that same year. In 2010, minor league baseball owners presented Mincher with the King of Baseball award.