Mike Ilitch

Mike Ilitch (born July 20, 1929 in Macedonia), is the owner of Little Caesars, an international pizza chain, the first of which he opened in Detroit in 1959. He later purchased two Detroit sports teams — the Detroit Red Wings, bought in 1982 and the Detroit Tigers, bought in 1992, as well as the Fox Theatre. He also owned the Detroit Drive of the Arena Football League from 1988 to 1993.

Related Topics:
July 20 - 1929 - Macedonia - Little Caesars - Pizza - Detroit - 1959 - Sports - Detroit Red Wings - 1982 - Detroit Tigers - 1992 - Fox Theatre - Detroit Drive - Arena Football League - 1988 - 1993

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In his hometown of Detroit, Ilitch owns a number of abandoned buildings in the downtown area. He is pushing to demolish most of the structures he owns, and successfully (though controversially) gained the demolition of the Madison-Lenox Hotel in May 2005.

Related Topics:
Madison-Lenox Hotel - May 2005

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Ilitch was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. Unfortunately, his sucess in Hockey has not translated into success in Baseball. Some have stated that it is due to the fact that Illich is unwilling to spend money on two franchises. This claim is supported by the fact that the Tigers started to spend real free agent money only during the NHL Lockout. Others state that he is out of his depth as a baseball owner, a claim supported by the fact that he held on to Randy Smith for so long. Smith is universally regarded as the worst baseball GM in recent history, as well as the architect of the 2003 Tigers which almost broke the MLB record for most losses. Still another opinion is that he didn't even try to field a competitive team during the Red Wings glory years.

Related Topics:
United States Hockey Hall of Fame - 2004

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