Mike Ilitch

Michael Ilitch Sr., often called "Mr. I," was born in Detroit on July 20, 1929, to Macedonian immigrant parents. His father worked as a tool and die maker. After graduating from Cooley High School, Ilitch spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He then signed with the Detroit Tigers organization for $3,000 and played minor league baseball from 1952 to 1955, mostly as a second baseman in the Tigers, New York Yankees, and Washington Senators systems, until a knee injury ended his playing days.

In 1959, Ilitch and his wife Marian launched Little Caesars Pizza Treat in Garden City, Michigan. Decades later, in 1999, they created Ilitch Holdings, Inc. to manage their growing portfolio of businesses, with Ilitch as chairman and Marian as vice chairwoman. By 2007, their combined enterprises reportedly brought in over $1.8 billion in revenue. After briefly dropping off Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans, Ilitch reappeared in 2006 at No. 242; by December 2016, he ranked No. 86 with an estimated net worth of $6.1 billion. In 2000, the Ilitches named two of their children co-presidents of Ilitch Holdings: Christopher Ilitch and Denise Ilitch, an attorney. Christopher later became CEO and president, while Denise left the company to pursue other opportunities.

Ilitch’s first foray into professional sports ownership came in 1974, when he joined a 33-person group—which included Motown singer Marvin Gaye—to fund the Detroit Wheels of the World Football League, a team that folded before finishing its inaugural season. He then formed the Detroit Caesars, a professional slow-pitch softball team that played from 1977 to 1979, winning two championships before disbanding. The team featured former Detroit Tigers stars like Jim Northrup, Mickey Stanley, Jim Price, and Norm Cash.

In 1982, Ilitch bought the Detroit Red Wings from Bruce Norris for $8 million. Under his ownership, the team became a perennial playoff contender, winning the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008, and appearing in the Finals three times between 1995 and 1998. Before the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Forbes ranked the Red Wings as the fifth-most valuable NHL franchise, despite a $16 million operating loss. The team won the President’s Trophy for the best regular-season record six times—more than any other team since the award’s introduction in 1985–86—and made the playoffs for 25 straight seasons through 2015–16, the longest active streak in North American professional sports at the time.

Ilitch purchased the Detroit Tigers in 1992 from fellow pizza magnate Tom Monaghan. The team struggled, posting losing records in 12 of 13 seasons before turning things around in 2006. Ilitch pushed for a new ballpark, and in 2000 the Tigers moved from Tiger Stadium to Comerica Park, which he helped finance by covering about 60% of the $350 million cost; the rest came from taxpayers and federal grants. Ilitch Holdings now manages and operates the park and its concessions.

In 2005, Comerica Park hosted the MLB All-Star Game. Under manager Jim Leyland and general manager Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers won the AL Wild Card in 2006, making the playoffs for the first time since 1987 and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1984, though they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games. Ilitch also invested in Detroit real estate, notably restoring the Fox Theatre and moving his corporate headquarters there. He died on February 10, 2017, at age 87.