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Mike Ilitch
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Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. (born Michael Iliev or Ilievski July 20, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan) is an entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise. He has been at the center of Detroit's downtown redevelopment efforts when he purchased and renovated the Fox Theatre, and relocated his headquarters into its offices.
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Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. (born Michael Iliev or Ilievski July 20, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan) is an entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise. He has been at the center of Detroit's downtown redevelopment efforts when he purchased and renovated the Fox Theatre, and relocated his headquarters into its offices. Several vacant buildings under his ownership, such as the Madison-Lenox Hotel, have been demolished for new development. He is a first generation American of Macedonian descent. He is married to Marian Bayoff Ilitch.
Family business concept
A graduate of Cooley High School, Mike Ilitch entered the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. After his return home to Detroit, the Detroit Tigers offered him a $3,000 bonus if he would sign to play baseball, and Ilitch would have a three year minor league career before he was forced out of his playing career due to a knee injury. Instead, he would go into the pizza business. With the help of his wife, Marian, the Ilitches opened Little Caesars Pizza Treat in Garden City, Michigan, the first of what would become many thousands of restaurants through franchising.
Today, the family's entities remain privately held. In 1999, the Ilitches established Ilitch Holdings, Inc. to provide their various enterprises with professional and technical services. They hold the titles of Chairman and Vice Chairwoman, respectively. The combined total revenues for these enterprises in 2007 reportedly exceeded $1.8 billion. Mike Ilitch had fallen off Forbes Magazines annual list of the "400 Richest Americans," but in 2006 he returned to the list at #242.
Marian Ilitch reportedly divested herself of any personal interest in the Detroit Tigers organization in 1998 to pursue interests in Detroit's emerging casino gambling industry. She acquired a significant interest in the Motor City Casino and, in 2005, purchased sole controlling interest. She independently pursues other gambling interests doing business as Gateway Casino Resorts, LLC and Barwest, LLC among others names.
The pair have seven children. They appointed two of their children co-presidents of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. in 2000: son Christopher Ilitch and daughter Denise Ilitch, an attorney. After a well chronicled four year struggle for control between the two siblings, in July 2004, Christopher Ilitch was named to the new post of CEO and president. Denise Ilitch left the privately held company "to pursue other opportunities."
Little Caesars, despite its unique marketing and advertising success, has shrunk by more than 2,000 stores since the early 1990s and slipped from being number three in the pizza industry to number four, behind Pizza Hut, Domino's and Papa John's. Still, restaurants are located in cities across the United States.
In his hometown of Detroit, Mike Ilitch and his family are one of downtown Detroit's largest abandoned property owners. Their portfolio of abandoned properties include the Adams Theater, Fine Arts Building, United Artist,and Blenheim Building. A number of buildings surrounding their properties have been successfully renovated by other building owners, and Olympia Development (an Ilitch-owned company) is currently renovating the Detroit Life Building in 2008. In March 1998, Olympia Entertainment (an Ilitch-Owned company) took over management of the Masonic Temple in Detroit
Sports ownership
Detroit Caesars
The Detroit Caesars were a professional softball team that began play in the American Professional Slow Pitch Softball League (APSPL) in 1977, the first of three professional softball leagues. Prior to formalized professional play, Detroit was a hotbed for softball, with some of the best players in the country playing in the most competitive amateur leagues to be found in the US. A major sponsor of softball in the Detroit area was Little Caesar's, and with the formation of a professional league, Illitch formed a team in his first step into professional sports ownership.
The Caesars played at Memorial Field in East Detroit, a small suburb of Detroit that had recently played host to a national softball tournament. With clever promotions tied in with the pizza chain and the signing of two former Detroit Tiger stars, Jim Northrup and Norm Cash, fans packed into the small stands by the thousands to witness not only Detroit's best softball players, but those that Illitch had brought to town to make his team into the powerhouse of professional softball. Mike Nye, Ronnie Ford, Bert Smith, Tex Collins and many other softball legends took to the field for Detroit, led by manager Gary Vitto, earning the team two World Series titles before disbanding after the 1979 season.
Detroit Red Wings
In 1982, Mike Ilitch bought the Red Wings from Bruce Norris for $8 million USD, and eventually turned the team into a contender for the Stanley Cup. After building the team with the help of Jim Devellano, the Red Wings won back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998, fifteen years since his purchase. The Detroit Red Wings' success would include two other championships in 2002 & 2008. Prior to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Forbes Magazine ranked the Red Wings as the fifth most valuable franchise in the NHL despite a $16 million operating loss. For the 2007/08 hockey season, the team won the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL for the sixth time - the most of any NHL team. They also made the playoffs for 17 consecutive seasons, second only to the Boston Bruins streak of 29 consecutive playoff appearances, and won the Stanley Cup. Perhaps one of his most controversial moves, according to Red Wings fans, was to refuse to hang Larry Aurie's number 6 from the rafters at Joe Louis Arena, prior to this, the number had been considered retired by the previous owners, and for some unknown reason, Ilitch had it removed, both from the retired numbers list, and from the programs, however, players refuse to wear the number in honor of Aurie.
Detroit Tigers
Ilitch purchased the Detroit Tigers in 1992 (from fellow pizza magnate Tom Monaghan who founded Domino's Pizza), for baseball was a sport that he had played as a youth. Under his ownership, the Tigers logged losing records in twelve out of thirteen seasons before their recent turnaround in 2006. That year, the Tigers made the playoffs for the first time in 19 years under Manager Jim Leyland and General Manager Dave Dombrowski. Since Dombrowski was brought in, Ilitch has steadily agreed to finance a larger payroll, with the Tigers beginning the 2008 season as one of the most expensive teams in baseball. Forbes Magazine ranked the Tigers #22 out of 30 teams on its 2005 list of most valuable teams. The Tigers franchise is highly leveraged, with only two other teams carrying higher debt to value ratios on their ledgers. Ilitch moved the struggling team from Tiger Stadium into newly-built Comerica Park. He financed approximately 50% of the $350 million facility and the taxpayers of the greater Detroit-Wayne County and federal grants covered the balance. Various Ilitch Holdings, Inc. enterprises manage and operate Comerica Park and its concessions. In 2005, the Detroit Tigers hosted MLB's 76th All-Star Game at Comerica Park. All-Star Week in Detroit produced the highest grossing revenue in the history of the All-Star Game.
Detroit Drive
Ilitch was one of the early team owners in the Arena Football League, starting up the Detroit Drive in 1988, somewhat as a filler team for summer dates in the Joe Louis Arena, although Little Caesars was also one of the major sponsors of the AFL during the time Ilitch owned the Drive. The Drive were one of the most successful teams in the early days of the AFL, both on and off the field. They generally had strong attendance (although much of that was due to discounted or giveaway tickets), and the Drive were in the ArenaBowl in every year of their six-year existence, going 4-2 in the title games. After Ilitch bought the Tigers in 1993 though, he decided he didn't want to own another franchise that would take away fans from the Tigers, so he sold the team and they moved to Worcester, Massachusetts.
Criticism
As the Tigers struggled in the 1990s and early 2000s, Ilitch faced criticism from fans for his perceived role in the team's losing seasons. An oft-repeated but unverified claim was that he favored the Red Wings, financing his hockey team's expensive roster while refusing to spend money on the Tigers. Others claimed he was out of his depth as a baseball owner for his longtime trust in former General Manager Randy Smith. However, in building the current team, which notably participated in the 2006 World Series, Ilitch authorized a number of lucrative free agent contracts, which suggests speculation of favoritism was probably false.
Ilitch has been criticized in the Detroit Free Press and by the family of Larry Aurie, a former star member of the Red Wings, for not recognizing Aurie's retired number along with other team greats. Aurie's #6 was officially retired by former Red Wings owner James Norris after the 1938-1939 season, and hung in the Detroit Olympia. However, while the number remains out of circulation, Ilitch has reportedly refused to consider it a retired number, and its status as under official retirement is disputed by the Red Wings official Web site.
Ilitch has been blamed by Detroit media and some organizations for purposely stymieing efforts to redevelop Tiger Stadium, and accepting city tax money ($400,000 annually) for upkeep on the derelict former home of the Tigers, while allowing the stadium to fall into disrepair. Plans included renovating the stadium to its 1930s-era configuration to draw a minor league team, as well as use as a shopping center or permanent home to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. The stadium was partially demolished in 2008, however there are currently plans to save the part of that stretches from first to third.
Hockey Hall of Fame
Ilitch was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 as well as the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.
In Stanley Cup history, only 12 women have had their names engraved on the trophy including Ilitch's wife, Marian and their three daughters.
Civic and philanthropic activities
Ilitch Charities for Children (ICC), is a charitable foundation established by the Ilitch family. Among other things, the ICC sponsors Little Caesars AAA Hockey Scholarship to encourage amateur sports.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, reports required by the Federal Elections Commission from 2002-2005 indicate Ilitch Holdings, Inc. members and business partners have contributed more than $500,000 to political campaigns and PACs.
Ilitch family
Mike and Marian Ilitch have seven children: son Christopher Ilitch (born June 1965) is CEO and President of Ilitch Holdings, Inc.; daughter Denise Ilitch (born November 1955) is an attorney. Other children are Ron (born June 1957); Michael, Jr.; Lisa Ilitch Murray; Atanas; and Carole Ilitch Trepeck. Each of the 7 children has his or her name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008 since they all own shares in the Detroit Red Wings.
The family was presented the key to the City of Detroit by then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on February 14, 2008. They are only the fifth recipients in the history of the city, the others being actor James Earl Jones, neurosurgeon Benjamin Carson, and Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis.
In the Media
Mike Ilitch's life was profiled on a recent episode of Spotlight: Detroit on Fox Sports Detroit (the local TV rights holder to his Tigers and Red Wings).
See also
External links
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