Lew Matlin, father of UH athletic director David Matlin, died Thursday in Michigan, according to emails sent to friends.

Matlin, who was general manager of the Hawaii Islanders baseball team in the 1960s, was 96. He died surrounded by his family.

Matlin spent most of his 43-year career in professional baseball, including 20 seasons in the front office with the Detroit Tigers.

He was also known as a baseball historian and was part of a local group that honored baseball founder Alexander Cartwright on his birthday each year. Matlin’s son, David, has been athletic director at Hawaii since March 2015. He also served as the ticket office manager for UH between 1994 and ’99 before running the Hawaii Bowl and the Diamond Head Classic with ESPN.