"Malcolm "Mac" Prine, a former president of the Pirates and chief executive at Ryan Homes, died in hospice care early Tuesday morning. He was 83.

Prine oversaw the hiring of former manager Jim Leyland in 1985, but resigned after two years as team president after an internal power struggle with general manager Syd Thrift. He was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year -- 37 years after he quit smoking, said his daughter, Peggy Joy.

He became Pirates president in 1985 when Ryan Homes joined several other companies in an ownership group.

"He absolutely loved that job," Joy said."