The controversial former owner of the Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball team, Marge Schott, has died at a hospital in Ohio. She was 75.
Schott was hospitalized about three weeks ago for breathing problems. A longtime cigarette smoker, Schott took a turn for the worse while in the hospital.
Schott had been keeping a low profile after selling her controlling interest in the Reds team in 1999. She remained a limited partner in the team and sued owner Carl Lindner because she did not like her seats in the Reds' new ballpark.
The gravelly-voiced Schott was known for her eccentricities, including making players pet her Saint Bernard dog "Schottzie." While she was majority owner, the Reds won the World Series in 1990.
But Schott gained notoriety in the 1990s when she made racial slurs about African-American ballplayers and spoke favorably about Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler. She later apologized for her remarks and sold her majority interest in the team.