ST PAUL, Minn. — Legendary coach Dennis Denning, who was an icon in the St. Paul baseball community, has died. He was 76.
Officials with the University of St. Thomas, where he both played and coached, say he died Wednesday morning after a "series of health issues."
"Coach Denning is a legend," the University of St. Thomas baseball team tweeted out. "The impact he had on thousands of people pervaded baseball, and we're all better human beings for having the privilege of knowing him."
Denning was the Tommies' coach from 1995-2009, according to a press release from the university, and previously coached at Cretin-Derham Hall, where he led the Raiders to six state championships.
Prior to coaching, Denning played at Cretin-Derham and St. Thomas before being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1965. He spent three years in the minors before injuries cut his career short.
He returned to St. Paul to become a coach, where he had 901 career wins with the Raiders and Tommies. He led Cretin-Derham Hall to six Minnesota state large-class titles, 15 St. Paul City Conference titles and a 379-76 overall record, according to the release.
He then took over the Tommies in 1995 where he led them to their first NCAA Division III College World Series in 1999. St. Thomas would go on to the national championship two years later before capturing a second championship in his final year coaching (2009).
"The baseball world lost a great coach and a better man today," said current St. Thomas baseball coach Chris Olean, who was an All-American pitcher under Denning. "Coach Denning was a once-in-a-lifetime leader of men. In reflecting back on my time with him as a player and assistant coach, his baseball knowledge and coaching skill was unmatched."
Denning was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012. He's also a member of the St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame as well as a member of Mancini's Hall of Fame in St. Paul.
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