Mike Ilitch

In an era of experimentation in sports leagues, the Detroit Wheels were a football team that played in the World Football League for the 1974 season. Ilitch was part of a 33-person ownership group (it also included Motown singer Marvin Gaye) that funded the ill-fated WFL team which would not even last the inaugural season in the start-up league.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

1977 Detroit Caesars, Mike Ilitch at far right

The Detroit Caesars were a professional softball team that began play in the American Professional Slow Pitch Softball League (APSPL) in 1977.[24][25] The team disbanded after the 1979 season.[26] Prior to formalized professional play, a major sponsor of amateur softball in the Detroit area was Little Caesars, who sponsored the 1970 American Softball Association national championship team.[27] With the formation of a professional league, Ilitch formed a team in his first solo step into professional sports ownership.[28]

The Caesars played at Memorial Field in East Detroit and featured former Detroit Tiger stars Jim Northrup, Mickey Stanley, Jim Price and Norm Cash, along with established softball players such as Mike Nye, Ronnie Ford, Mike Gouin, Bert Smith, and Tex Collins.[29] The team was led by manager Gary Vitto, earning the team two championships before disbanding after the 1979 season.[28] Vitto would go on to serve as General Manager of the Detroit Drive of the Arena Football League and then served in the front office of the Detroit Tigers, both owned by Ilitch.[30]

In 1982, Ilitch bought the Detroit Red Wings from Bruce Norris (whose family had owned the team for 50 years) for US$8 million, and turned the team into a perennial contender for the Stanley Cup. After years of drafting top picks and grooming their young players, and with proper management and leadership, the Red Wings became an elite NHL team. They made the Stanley Cup finals three times between the 1994–1995 and 1997–1998 seasons, winning the Cup in 1997 (fifteen years after Ilitch purchased the Red Wings) and again in 1998. The Red Wings added two more championships in 2002 and 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 2007–2008 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 since the President's Trophy was introduced in 1985–1986. The Red Wings made the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons through 2015–2016. The 25 consecutive playoff berths were the longest active streak of post-season appearances in all of the North American professional sports, before ending in the 2016–2017 season. It is tied for third all-time in NHL history after 29 consecutive appearances by the Boston Bruins from 1967–1968 to 1995–1996, 28 consecutive trips by the Chicago Blackhawks from 1969–1970 through 1996–1997, and is tied with the 25 consecutive appearances by the St. Louis Blues from 1979–1980 to 2003–2004.

Ilitch purchased the Detroit Tigers in 1992 from fellow pizza magnate Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza.[31] Under his ownership, the Tigers logged losing records in twelve out of thirteen seasons before their turnaround in 2006.

After acquiring the team, Ilitch expressed interest in moving the struggling team to a new ballpark. In 2000, his expectations were realized when the team moved from Tiger Stadium into the newly built Comerica Park. He financed approximately 60% of the $350 million facility; 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. Forbes magazine ranked the Tigers #22 in its 2005 list of the Top 30 most valuable sports franchises.

When the Tigers won the AL Wild Card under manager Jim Leyland and general manager Dave Dombrowski in 2006, they made the playoffs for the first time since 1987. They also reached the World Series for the first time since 1984, but the Tigers eventually lost in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Series. After Dombrowski was brought in, Ilitch steadily agreed to bring in marquee free agents and finance a larger payroll, with the Tigers beginning the 2008 season as one of the highest-salaried teams in baseball.

On September 16, 2011, the Tigers won the Central division title—their first division crown since Ilitch's purchase. On January 24, 2012, Ilitch signed Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract, the fourth-largest contract in baseball history. The 2012 Tigers went all the way to the World Series, but were swept by the San Francisco Giants. Prior to the 2013 season, Ilitch agreed to sign starting pitcher Justin Verlander to a seven-year, $180 million contract extension, at the time the highest single offer ever tendered to a major league pitcher.[32] The Tigers won four consecutive AL Central Division titles between 2011 and 2014, but Ilitch's quest for a World Series title remained elusive.

Ilitch was one of the early team owners in the Arena Football League, starting up the Detroit Drive in 1988. The Drive was 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 was in the ArenaBowl in every year of their six-year existence, going 4-2 in the title games.[33]

After Ilitch bought the Tigers in 1992 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.[34]

Ilitch was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 as well as the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.[35]