Gene Cook, a 15-term Toledo City Council member, longtime general manger of the Toledo Mud Hens, and a former three-sport star at the University of Toledo, died after a brief illness yesterday in Medical College of Ohio Hospitals. He was 70.

He entered the hospital Feb. 4 for a routine surgical procedure related to his pacemaker and complications developed Feb. 9, his family said.

Mr. Cook, who called himself a conservative Democrat, was a low-key politician who rarely created controversy and was an adept peacemaker. He served several stints as vice mayor and, when the strong-mayor system replaced the city manager form of government in 1993, Mr. Cook served as council president during his final two years in office.

When Mr. Cook retired in 1998, completing a record 30 years on council, a Blade editorial said: “[No one has] had more council colleagues over the years. Equally impressive in such a politically volatile atmosphere as city hall is the fact that he made so many friends along the way.”

One of those friends was Ohio Supreme Court justice and former City Council member Andy Douglas, who said last night: “I'm deeply saddened not just because Gene and I were council colleagues, but also because of my great admiration for the self-sacrifice he gave to our city. He had a deep compassionate streak, underlying that imposing physical appearance.”

Said Mayor Jack Ford: “I had the distinct honor of serving with the dean of council. He was a mentor of mine and had my deepest respect and admiration.”

Mr. Cook, who served as general manager of the Mud Hens for 20 years, was a long-time proponent for the downtown ballpark that will open in April.

“It is impossible for us to express the deep sorrow the entire Toledo Mud Hens organization feels at this time. For almost 25 years, Gene's commitment, love, and passion for Toledo and the Mud Hens were immeasurable,” team officials said in a statement.

“He was a superb political official. He really cared about the community. If you didn't like Gene Cook, you couldn't like anybody,” added former County Commissioner James Holzemer, a long-time friend.

Mr. Cook's prowess as an athlete helped elevate him from his humble beginnings in Greenfield, Tenn., where he was born on Jan. 11, 1932. His family later moved to Cleveland and Mr. Cook graduated from West High in 1951.

Following graduation, he joined the U.S. Army, serving from 1952-1954 in the South Pacific and Far East during the Korean War. In 1954, he entered UT.

Mr. Cook earned nine varsity letters during his three years with the school's football, basketball, and baseball teams.

In football, the tall and lanky end earned all-conference honors and was the league's top receiver his senior year. In baseball, he played five positions and hit .361 his last year. In basketball, he was a valuable reserve.

“He was a good athlete, one of the better ones out there,” said Sylvester “Sonny” Smith, a former UT football position coach and player.

Mr. Cook graduated in 1958 and pursued a career in professional football. After tryouts with the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Baltimore Colts, he joined the semi-pro Toledo Tornadoes in 1961 and played three years before retiring in 1964.

In 1961, Mr. Cook was given the first outstanding athlete-scholar award by UT's alumni association.

Mr. Cook was employed by Grogan Realtors before joining Nicholson Concrete Co. in 1963, where he worked in sales and public relations.

He remained at Nicholson until 1978, when he was named general manager of the Mud Hens. “It gives me a chance to be on my own, running a business for someone else, being responsible for coming up with the ideas and methods. And I've always been interested in getting back into sports in some capacity,” Mr. Cook said at the time of his hiring.

During Mr. Cook's first year with the club, attendance increased dramatically, and the club finished third in the league. He worked 14-hour days, during which time he introduced numerous promotions and worked to get the city's youth and young adults out to the ballpark.

One of his greatest achievements, he always said, was convincing the producers of the hit TV sitcom M*A*S*H to get Toledo-born actor Jamie Farr, who played Corporal Klinger in the show, to change his dress from drag to Mud Hens garb. As a result of the worldwide exposure, sales of Mud Hens hats and jerseys exploded during the mid-1980s.

In 1999, Joseph Napoli replaced Mr. Cook as general manager. Mr. Cook was named the club's executive vice president and chief operating officer. He remained a member of the team's five-member board.

Last year, City Council designated the two blocks of Superior Street from the new stadium to the Farmers Market Gene Cook Way.

“He loved his Mud Hens. It breaks my heart he won't be there on Opening Day,” said Lucas County Commissioner Sandy Isenberg, a former City Council colleague of Mr. Cook's.

In 1967, at age 35, Mr. Cook was first elected to City Council. By his fourth term, in 1973, Mr. Cook had become one of council's leading vote-getters.

Mr. Cook supported the move to a strong-mayor system and played an important role in guiding council through the turbulence of switching in 1993 from a nine-member council to a 12-member group comprised of six at-large members and six from districts.

Though adept at avoiding conflict, Mr. Cook was at the center of a 1988 pension tiff. Then-state Rep. Barney Quilter had helped Mr. Cook get his Mud Hens salary along with his City Council income counted toward a state pension.

Since he made only $7,800 as a council member at the time, but $54,000 as the Mud Hens GM, Mr. Cook stood to earn $24,000 a year more in retirement pay.

Critics charged that his Mud Hens earnings should not qualify, but a bill introduced in the Ohio House to prevent Mr. Cook from counting that income failed.

Mr. Cook, who said he qualified because the Mud Hens were an arm of Lucas County government, was treated harshly by a number of legislators and the press. Voters dropped him to last place among the winners in the 1989 council race.

Mr. Cook regained his popularity in subsequent elections and was rarely criticized during his final decade in politics.

“He had the opportunity to be able to focus on what was necessary now and what would be needed in the future and was able to bring everyone to the table to settle disputes,” said Ms. Isenberg. “He never demeaned anyone and always treated people like they were the most important person he knew. That was a rare trait.”

Added Chase Clements, a former Blade political reporter: “He was always the good soldier on council.”

In a 1989 Blade interview, Mr. Cook reflected on his many years on council: “When I first started, I wanted to put something back into the city. I started going to university here and earned a living here. Once you got involved it's rather difficult to want to get away,” he said.

Mr. Cook was an avid sports fan, outdoorsman, and he enjoyed his grandchildren, family, and friends.

Mr. Cook was inducted into the University of Toledo athletic hall of fame. He was a member and former president of the university's Varsity T Club and a member of Rocket Club board of directors. He was a member of the Ohio and National League of Cities associations; the city, state, and national boards of Realtors; the Old Newsboys Goodfellow Association; Toledo Museum of Art; the Toledo Symphony; Toledo Zoo; National Baseball Association; Elks Lodge 53; and Moose Lodge 1610.

Surviving are his wife of 45 years, Marion; sons, John and Gary; daughter, Shelley Straube; brother, Bill; sister, Betty Webb; and seven grandchildren.

Services are pending.

First Published February 16, 2002, 1:15 p.m.