Mike Ilitch | |
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Ilitch presenting No Hitter Awards in 2011
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Born |
Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
July 20, 1929
Died | February 10, 2017 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
(aged 87)
Occupation | Owner of Detroit Tigers & Detroit Red Wings, founder of Little Caesars Pizza |
Net worth | US$6.1 billion (February 2017) |
Spouse(s) | Marian Ilitch |
Children | 7 |
Parent(s) | Sotir Ilitch Sultana Ilitch |
Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. (July 20, 1929 – February 10, 2017) was an American entrepreneur, founder and owner of the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.
Ilitch was at the center of Detroit's downtown redevelopment efforts; he purchased and renovated the Fox Theatre and relocated his business headquarters (Ilitch Holdings) there. He also owned Olympia Entertainment. A first generation American of Macedonian descent, he was married to Marian Bayoff Ilitch.
Ilitch was born in Detroit in 1929 to Macedonian immigrants Sotir and Sultana Ilitch. His father was a tool-and-die maker.
A graduate of Cooley High School in Detroit, Michigan, Ilitch served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years.
After his return home to Detroit, the Detroit Tigers offered him $3,000 if he would sign to play baseball, and Ilitch had a four-year minor league career from 1952 to 1955. Ilitch played mostly second base for the Tigers', New York Yankees', and Washington Senators' organizations in the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League, Cotton States League, and Florida International League. He was forced out of his playing career due to a knee injury.