Vincent Marotta Sr., who as a creator of the Mr. Coffee machine helped send the percolator the way of the one-horse shay, died on Saturday at his home in Pepper Pike, Ohio. He was 91.

His daughter Susan Parente confirmed his death.

One of the first automatic drip coffee makers designed for home use, Mr. Coffee was first marketed in 1972. The brainchild of Mr. Marotta, then a real estate developer, and his partner, Samuel Glazer, it was intended to replace the prevalent, problematic household percolator.

Mr. Coffee became a market leader almost immediately. By 1979, Forbes reported, the company was generating $150 million in annual sales and held a market share of at least 50 percent versus rivals like Norelco, General Electric and Proctor-Silex.

Much of the brand’s success owed to its ubiquitous television ads featuring Joe DiMaggio. Mr. Marotta, a former pro football player who had also signed with Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals, personally recruited Mr. DiMaggio; as a result of the campaign, “millions of kids grew up thinking Joe DiMaggio was a famous appliance salesman,” The Columbus Dispatch wrote in 2007.