ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Don Zimmer wasnt a fixture in baseball forever. It just seemed that way. He played alongside Jackie Robinson on the only Brooklyn Dodgers team to win the World Series. He coached Derek Jeter on the New York Yankees latest dynasty. And his manager once was the illustrious Casey Stengel. For 66 years, Zimmer was a most popular presence at ballparks all over, a huge chaw often filling his cheek. Everyone in the game seemed to know him, and love him. Zimmer was still working for the Tampa Bay Rays as a senior adviser when he died Wednesday at a hospital in nearby Dunedin. He had been in a rehabilitation centre since having seven hours of heart surgery in mid-April. "Today we all lost a national treasure and a wonderful man," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. Zimmer started out as a minor league infielder in 1949, hitting powerful shots that earned him the nickname "Popeye." He went on to enjoy one of the longest-lasting careers in baseball history. And oh, the stories he could tell. "I loved listening to him every day," Billy Connors, a coach under Zimmer with the Chicago Cubs, told The Associated Press. Zimmer played on the original New York Mets, saw his Boston Red Sox beaten by Bucky Dents playoff homer, got tossed to the ground by Pedro Martinez during a brawl and was Joe Torres right-hand man as the bench coach with the Yankees. "I hired him as a coach, and he became like a family member to me. He has certainly been a terrific credit to the game," Torre said in a statement. "The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Alis. We loved him. The game of baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man," he said. A career .235 hitter in the big leagues, numbers could never define all that Zimmer meant to the game. He did have tremendous success, too -- his teams won six World Series rings and went to the post-season 19 times. Zimmers No. 66 Rays jersey had been worn recently by longtime Tampa Bay third base coach Tom Foley in tribute. The Rays hosted the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night, and Foley was crying in the dugout. Earlier this season, the Rays hung a banner in the front of the press box at Tropicana Field that simply read "ZIM." There was a moment of silence at Dodger Stadium for Zimmer before Los Angeles played the Chicago White Sox. "On behalf of Major League Baseball and the many clubs that Popeye served in a distinguished baseball life, I extend my deepest condolences to Dons family, friends and his many admirers throughout our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. Zimmers biggest admirer was his wife "Soot" -- they were married at home plate during a minor league game in 1951. Two years later in the minors, Zimmers path took a frightening turn -- he was beaned by a fastball and left in a coma, and doctors had to put metal screws in his head. He recovered well enough to wear a lot of uniforms during his 56 years in the majors. He played for the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Cincinnati and Washington. He managed San Diego, Boston, Texas and the Cubs. "Probably the best baseball man I knew," Connors said. Yankees executive Hank Steinbrenner echoed that sentiment. "I loved Zim. I loved his passion. He was a great, great guy. He was a great baseball guy," he told the AP. "Everybody loved him." Steinbrenner, son of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, said Torre and Zimmer were the "perfect team" during New Yorks run that brought four titles in a five-year span. "Joe was low-keyed. Zim would get fired up. He was a bench coach for real," Steinbrenner said. "He was an extremely important part of the 1990s success." Zimmer hit 91 home runs and had 352 RBIs in 12 seasons. He started Game 7 when Brooklyn beat the Yankees for the 1955 crown and was an All-Star in 1961. The next year, he played under Stengel on the 1962 expansion Mets, who famously went 40-120. "Dont blame them all on me," Zimmer once said. "I got traded after the first 30 days." Zimmer was the 1989 NL Manager of the Year with the Cubs and was at Yankee Stadium for three perfect games, by Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series and by David Cone and David Wells in the late 1990s. "Its a sad day for the game of baseball," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said after a 3-2 loss at San Diego. "Don impacted lives from the time he put a uniform on in the minor leagues until today." Zimmer is survived by his wife; son Thomas, a scout with the San Francisco Giants; daughter Donna, and four grandchildren. Pink Cowboys Jerseys . Erik Cole scored on a breakaway with 4:49 to play, and the Stars rallied to defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday night. Elite Cowboys Jerseys . - For years William Gay kept quiet. http://www.officialcowboysnflauthenticshop.com/ . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. Tony Pollard Gear . A criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court said his girlfriend told police they got into the argument early Thursday at his suburban Minneapolis home. Trysten Hill Gear . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kemba Walker scored 30 points and the Charlotte Hornets rolled to a 109-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday to snap a four-game losing streak. Al Jefferson added 20 points and 12 rebounds in the win as the Hornets led for the final 41 1/2 minutes of the game. Our readiness was good to start the game and when the guys came off the bench we sustained our play well and we were able to play from ahead, said Hornets coach Steve Clifford. They earned just their third win in the last 17 games, shaking off Wednesdays loss to Phoenix, when they blew a 17-point lead. The loss dropped the Sixers to 0-14 at home this season. They are five losses from matching the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks (0-19) for the worst home start in NBA history, but they wont be getting closer to the mark any time soon. Starting Sunday in Orlando, they play seven straight games on the road. Robert Covington and Tony Wroten scored 19 points apiece to lead Philadelphia and Michael Carter-Williams had 14 points and 10 assists. The Sixers went 0-3 on a homestand and have lost five in a row since getting their second win of the season on Dec. 6 in Detroit. The first half set the stage for the loss, said Sixers coach Brett Brown. I thought the second half was better. We searched and found a group that got us (closer). They traded guard Alexeyy Shved to Houston on Friday as part of the three-team deal that sent Corey Brewer from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Rockets.dddddddddddd In return, the Sixers got injured forward Ronny Turiaf from Minnesota and a 2015 second-round draft pick from Houston. The Sixers also acquired the rights to Spanish League player Sergei Lishchuk, who was drafted 10 years ago but has never played in the NBA. Walker scored 12 in the first quarter and Marvin Williams went 3-for-3 on 3- pointers, helping the Hornets take a 37-26 lead. Walkers layup capped a 7-0 run during the quarter that gave Charlotte the lead for good at 20-15. It dipped briefly into single digits at the start of the second quarter, but the Hornets bench scored 16 points in the frame and Charlotte led 66-46 at halftime. The Sixers trailed by as many as 24 points in the third quarter but JaKarr Sampson led a 10-0 run at the end of the quarter to get them within 13. Charlotte scored the first two points in the fourth and it was never closer. Game Notes The Hornets were without guard Lance Stephenson, who suffered a pelvic strain during Wednesdays game ... Turiaf had surgery Tuesday on his right hip and will miss the rest of the season ... 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