Tigers owner Mike Ilitch has passed away at 87 years of age, Bill Shea of Crain’s Detroit Business reports on Twitter. MLBTR extends its condolences to his family and friends, as well as the entire Tigers organization.
In a press release, his son Christopher — who is the president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. — called his father “a once-in-a-generation entrepreneur, visionary and leader.” A son of Macedonian immigrants, the elder Ilitch was born and raised in Detroit. He went on to own two of the city’s iconic sports franchises, the Tigers and the Red Wings of the NHL.
Ilitch spent five years in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school, and then joined the Tigers as an infielder. He ended up playing four seasons of minor-league ball before hanging up his spikes at 25 years of age. From there, according to the release, Ilitch worked as a door-to-door salesman to fund the opening of a pizza joint — the first Little Caesars.
After growing that small business into a massive, multi-national corporation, Ilitch expanded his business holdings. He bought the Red Wings in 1982, overseeing a golden era for that franchise, and took control of the Tigers in 1992.
While the hockey glories never quite carried over into the baseball arena, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Ilitch’s initial period of ownership was notable mostly for the Tigers’ poor play, but things began to turn around after he developed Comerica Park in a public-private partnership in advance of the 2000 season.
The tide broke in 2006, when the Tigers finally reached the postseason for the first time since 1987, advancing to the World Series (where they lost to the Cardinals). Detroit posted winning campaigns in eight of the next eleven seasons, returning to the playoffs four more times. The club made it to the Fall Classic once more in 2012, but again came up short.
Over his later years, Ilitch spared no expense to put a quality product on the field. The Tigers routinely placed among the game’s biggest spenders in player salaries, committing hundreds of millions of dollars annually to acquire and retain star-level talent.
Looking ahead for the Tigers organization, it seems that Christopher Ilitch will largely step into his father’s shoes. While there are indications that the club will look to streamline its finances, the younger Ilitch has expressed a similar passion for fielding a winning team.
RIP
wow
RIP my man
Rest In Peace Mr. Ilitch… My condolences to the Family and Friends.
RIP sir. Wish he could’ve seen a championship with this team. He really wanted to. Might be time for new ownership to sell now
Didn’t the tigers win a championship in the mid 2000s?
The Tigers haven’t won since 1984.
New ownership? You expect his kids to sell the team? Mike wanted nothing more than to bring a Championship to DET so I would assume his kids will do the same
His son has been talked about for a while to not have much of an interest in the team and has reportedly pushed mike to spend less on the team.
No I mean sell the players. Obviously this doesn’t make it time to sell the franchise
Children of owners of ANY business seldom have the “fire-in-the-belly” that the parents have. They usually look at it as an income, then they tire of having to devote so much time to it. I think you’ll see a sale in the not-too-distant future.
I really hope this doesn’t mean the Tigers will stop spending
Nice
Hurts that he wasn’t able to get that championship in that great run… for him, the team, everyone really
RIP
dang, sad he didn’t get one. RIP
Wow.
RIP.
Even as a Sox fan, I wish they could’ve gotten you just one.
No you don’t.
My condolences, but I hate the Tigers.
You hate the Tigers logo you mean because you cheer for the White Sox logo because they play in the city you feel the greatest affinity for. They are “your” team, but really they aren’t – they are contract hired players who aren’t from your city and will leave the team in a heartbeat given a better opportunity on a different city’s team. No player on the Detroit team or any other city’s team has probably ever done anything to you personally to make you even dislike them, and in fact, it is unlikely you actually know any of the players in the entire league, including those on the Chicago team, certainly not well enough to make such a judgment about them. You have unjustifiable hate. By the way, the thread was about a legendary man passing and you made a personal statement out of it. Shame on you.
That is the biggest bunch of egotistical, know it all BS that I have ever read. It may be somewhat right or totally wrong but You have no idea who you are writing to so it makes it a bunch of self involved rambling.
Well, I know I hate people like you.
Lmao
He did great things for Detroit
I know this is insensitive, but that really sucks. He valued winning so highly. He gave out so many bad contracts just to win that championship that would never come to be. RIP
As a Tigers fan I can do nothing but agree.
He always wanted that WS.
Gotta respect him for prioritizing winning over all else. You guys had a real great owner, Detroit
Brixton perhaps he didn’t value money so much to realize he could use it to give people something. He shared his wealth with his players and the city of Detroit. He did so much beyond baseball and hockey.
Yeah, can’t imagine why he just didn’t take all that $ with him.
RIP Sir.
I hope the Tigers can win one in his honor
RIP Mr. I. Thanks for making the Tigers relevant again.
Noooo:(. RIP MR ILLITCH. You brought greatness to the Tigers. You gave us a chance
Very sad news. He did a lot for the city of Detroit.
Baseball will miss him. Even though he never got that championship, few owners in any sport wanted to win as bad as he did. He’s what every fan wishes in their owner.
Thoughts to all friends/family and Tiger fans
So very true every fan wishes to have an owner like h
Rip Sir, nice man.. he will get his championship in heaven!!
Oh no!
As a Tribe fan, I still wish he would have gotten his title. He seemed like a super awesome guy to own a baseball team. RIP
Last of the long time class act owners. Not sure we will see any again like this, who funded teams as aggressively as he did and tried to work with his community in such a way over so long of a period. So many today are.. Just in for greed it seems..
He was criticized for lavish contracts, but he obviously believed that he couldn’t take it with him. It was his money and he damn well had the right to spend it as he wished.
Twins fan here and if an owner ever earned a title it was him, interesting that Illitch (extremely beloved) has now left the game and Loria (hated) might be leaving the game, couldn’t be two more different guys
This man singlehandedly saved the city of Detroit. He demanded that the Tigers and Red Wings play within the city limits and spent 100’s of millions of his own money to keep Detroit from becoming a barren wasteland. I know, I have personally witnessed it for the past 30 years. We lost a man with a heart of gold that transcends sports.
Loyalty to things he loves and admires.. Think is why he is spending nearly 50m to renovate Joker Marchent stadium here in Lakeland (ST home of Tigers) rather than moving to south Florida, where most all teams are now. Joker Marchent is/was a crumbling, 50yo stadium, yet he wanted it fixed instead and no longer are their 10+ teams along the I-4 corridor, but 2-3 at most.
Why I also mentioned loyalty. This man was one class act.
You know as much as I dislike the Tigers as an Indians fan, I really did hope they won one of those years in the recent past for the sake of their owner who wanted to win a championship more than seemingly anything else. RIP to him, and I hope he had peace knowing he did everything in his power.
As a kid, I would see him at the Detroit Ceasars Professional Slow Pitch Softball games in East Detroit. He and his kids would attend the games and always give a wave. The way he ran his first “professional franchise” was the same way he later ran the Wings and the Tigers. He paid for the best players and tried to make the games fun for everyone, signing Norm Cash, and Jim Northrup (former Tigers) to increase fan interest. A winning record and big names sell tickets. With the Tigers, he brought Pudge, Magglio, Prince and Miggy in to the team. Its what made him successful in Sports. Treating people well earned him the ability to do so many things for the City of Detroit. He will be missed. God Bless.
Passion for winning wise, he reminded me of Tom Yawkey. RIP.
The Tigers never won, but Illitch did get many championships. His name is on the Stanley Cup four times.
RIP.
A good reminder that time, not money, is the ultimate commodity.
My condolences.
i’m one of many opposing fans who has never even been to detroit… but man i have to say i’m really catching feels knowing they never won a championship for him. wish there were more owners willing to do whatever it takes to win. bummed he didn’t get the ring.
Sorry to hear. As a fan of baseball I was hoping they would get one for him the last few years as his health was going and he was dumping money into the team. Def respected him as an owner as he put earnings back into the team and not just his pocket. RIP. Too many owners let their fans suffer by not TRYING to be competitive. Can’t say that about Mike.
RIP Mr. Ilitch
Not a Tigers or Wings fan, but as an owner – to quote John Hart – that’s what they look like.
Rest in Peace, Marine.
RIP
Wow, it shouldn’t be so shocking considering his age but it just seemed he would be there for a World Series title. I hope his son is as committed to the city and fans as his father was. A true class act of sports. MLB has lost possibly the best owner of my lifetime.
Mike Ilitch was a good man and owner!!!
May he RIP
I liked this guy. RIP Mike.
A life well lived. Well done, Mike.
Mr I was a gift to Detroit and an example for all.
Very sad to hear. This man spent and spent, year after year in hopes of seeing a World Series in Detroit in his lifetime. Very sad to hear he never got to see it
Condolences to family, friends and the Detroit Tigers organization from a NY Mets fan.
RIP
Such a great man and the backbone of the city of Detroit. He did so many things for the city he loved. If you get a chance, look up Mike Ilitch and Rosa Parks. It will tell you what kind of man he was.
I never knew that. A wonderful sign of respect by the man.
Yikes. RIP.. I am not a Tiger fan, but I always did hope that he’d win a championship before he passed. I suppose the changes in the Tigers’ approach was a sign that Mr. Illitch was in poor health, but it is sad to see him go as the team that he put so much into is retrenching.
At least, the Red Wings had some championship years….
I was going to leave a simple condolence message until I read all of the comments on the man. It seems like baseball and the city of Detroit just lost a great man. I still only have my condolences to give to his family and friends, but at least I can remember some of the stories about him as well.
Such a shame. I would watch out for the Tigers now, could be playing extra hard for him in spirit now. Of course, so could alot of other teams for those lost this season… Pretty bad last year for people being lost in baseball.
As others have said, it’s sad that he didn’t get the World Series title that he clearly really wanted. :/
Great man great owner the old man will be missed by not only his players but the whole city.RIP
No matter who u root for, trust that this man was the kind of owner YOU WANTED your franchise to have! He wanted a ring for himself of course, but more so for Detroit! Growing up I went to about 7-10 Tigers games a year, and you never went any further downtown than the old Tiger Stadium. It was too dangerous and frankly too boring to go any further into the D. But then he bought the Red Wings, the Tigers and Comerica Park, the Fox Theater, the Motor City Casino, etc… He almost single handidly made this city fun as hell, and didn’t care about turning a profit. He wanted a great team on the field and I personally want to say thank you sir for making my favorite 2 teams relavant for a long time running. Rest in Peace sir!
He found out that Rosa Parks (yes that Rosa Parks) was having financial trouble and just paid her rent. No fanfare. Just did it. The more I learn about him. The better it gets.
Just a great man. A huge loss for not just the Tigers but the Redwings and the whole city of Detroit. Really when this popped up on my phone I was next to my friend and just busted into tears.