Outdoorsman Tom Mann dead at 72

<p>Fishing champion and Eufaula businessman William Thomas "Tom" Mann died Friday night in Birmingham. He was 72.</p><p>Mann had his second open heart surgery Monday at University Hospital.</p><p>"He seemed to be doing fine and all of a sudden, his kidneys failed," eldest daughter Sharon Dixon said Saturday.</p><p>Mann achieved fame as a fishing lure designer and manufacturer. He started Mann's Bait Company with his wife, Ann, in 1958 with an investment of $5. The business grew into a multimillion-dollar company when he sold it in 1979.</p><p>A two-time B.A.S.S. Tournament winner, Mann was a consistent top contender for 17 years, competed in the first seven Bassmaster Classic Tournaments and was named the Pro's Pro by his peers before retiring in 1984.</p><p>His fishing show was broadcast on ESPN, TNN, Sports Southern, the Sunshine Network, The Outdoor Channel and most recently, Tom and Tina Outdoors with co-host Tina Booker on the Sportsman Channel.</p><p>Mann was named as one of Alabama's Most Unforgettable Faces by the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel and Tom Mann's Fish World on U.S. Highway 431 was a popular tourist attraction until it closed in 2003.</p><p>Mann was inducted into the Fishing Hall of Fame and served on the advisory board of the Bass Angler Sportsman Society.</p><p>A native of Penton in Chambers County, Mann's other businesses included Hummingbird-Techsonic Industries and Southern Plastics in Eufaula.</p><p>Services are set for 2 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Baptist Church in Eufaula with visitation at the church starting at 11 a.m.</p><p>Mann is survived by his wife, Ann Brandenburg Mann, three daughters and a son, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.</p>

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