Mike Ilitch

Ilitch presents "No Hitter Awards" to Justin Verlander and Alex Avila , 2011

Michael "Mike" Ilitch (born July 20, 1929 in Detroit , Michigan ; † February 10, 2017 there ) was an American entrepreneur of Macedonian origin and owner of several sports teams.

Life

Ilitch's parents came from what is now the Republic of Macedonia , which was then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . Due to the political unrest there, they emigrated to the United States before Mike Ilitch was born. Mike Ilitch was a versatile athlete and had a special talent for baseball. Since the Detroit Tigers baseball team refused to pay him double the amount they offered him, he joined the United States Marine Corps for four years after graduating from high school . He played for a marine military team. During this time he was strongly influenced by the experiences that came over him in a military hospital. He was spared from the Korean War only because he played baseball and thus escaped the fate of the wounded he saw in the hospital.

After the end of the service he played for the Detroit Tigers and worked on the side in a nightclub where he baked pizzas. After breaking his leg, he had to end his baseball career. His father arranged a blind date with Marian in 1954 , whom he married a year later.

Entrepreneur

The business idea of ​​selling pizza as a fast food product came true in 1959 when he and his wife opened a pizza restaurant in Detroit under the name Little Caesars . Both sold their life insurance and borrowed additional money. Business was so good that the first franchise was opened as early as 1962 . Little Caesars spread across the United States and Canada, and a few years later the first branches were also opened in Europe. The fast food chain now has over a thousand branches. In 1993, Mike Ilitch's company was listed as the third largest pizza chain in the world.

In 1999, Mike Ilitch and his wife founded Ilitch Holdings Inc. , under which they housed their diverse businesses. In addition to Little Caesars , the Ilitchs own the MotorCity Casino and a few other entertainment establishments in Detroit. Her net worth is estimated at approximately $ 5.4 billion.

Mike Ilitch and his wife had seven children who are also involved in the family's affairs.

Sports team owner

Detroit Red Wings

In 1982 Mike Ilitch bought the Detroit Red Wings ice hockey team from the NHL for eight million US dollars. The team had been in a sporting crisis for more than ten years. Ilitch rebuilt the team with General Manager Jim Devellano and built a franchise that could play again at the top of the NHL. Fifteen years after the purchase, the team won the Stanley Cup in 1997 , followed by three more titles in 1998 , 2002 and 2008 .

Mike Ilitch was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 for his services to ice hockey and was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1991 .

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers from the MLB baseball league bought Mike Ilitch in 1992, after he had already tried to acquire them once in 1982 and was defeated by a competitor in a rival pizza chain. However, he was often criticized that he would invest a lot more money in the Red Wings and the Tigers received little money. This criticism was not without reason, because it was not until 2006 that the team was able to qualify for the playoffs for the first time .

Detroit Drive

Ilitch was one of the first team owners in 1988 in the Arena Football League , which was founded a year earlier. In addition, Little Caesar's was one of the main sponsors of the league. Ilitch's team, Detroit Drive , were a very successful team, winning four championships by 1993. Then Ilitch decided to sell the team, however, because he didn't want to have another team besides the Red Wings that would compete with the Tigers in terms of audience numbers.

Detroit Rockers

In 1993, Ilitch added the Detroit Rockers football club to his collection of sports clubs .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Short biography on usahockey.com (English)
2. ↑ short biography on littlecaesars.com (English) ( Memento of the original from September 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Article on legendsofhockey.net (English) ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Mike Ilitch in the database of the Hockey Hall of Fame (English)
• Official homepage of Ilitch Holdings, Inc.
• Official homepage of the Detroit Red Wings
• Official homepage of the Detroit Tigers