College basketball coaching legend John Wooden, who wrote several Christian books, died from natural causes June 4. Wooden, who had been hospitalized for dehydration at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles since May 26, was 99, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Wooden, who led his UCLA basketball team to an unsurpassed record of 10 national championships in the 1960s and '70s, was "a mild-mannered leader who instilled a quiet discipline in his players, emphasizing group effort over individual heroics," said the AP. His favorite part of coaching was leading the practice sessions in which he taught the fundamentals that were the foundation of his success, the AP reported.

"Neither Knute Rockne, not John McGraw, not Connie Mack, nor Casey Stengel, nor Vince Lombardi, nor any other coach or manager has compiled anything close to the record of Wooden's teams," sports journalist Arnold Hano wrote in the New York Times in 1973. "He is sport's most enduring, most successful winner."

Regal Books published several books by Wooden--a committed Christian--including Coach Wooden One-on-One, Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success, Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success Playbook and The Greatest Coach Ever, to be released next month.

"It has been a privilege for Gospel Light to partner with Coach Wooden on Regal titles that have inspired and transformed the lives of many," Bill Greig III, president and CEO of Gospel Light, told Christian Retailing. "He is an example of a man with simple yet deep faith and a testimony to the profound way God can work through one man's life."

Wooden and his wife, Nell, were married 53 years until her death in 1985. Wooden is survived by two children, seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

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