mike ilitch

The Dynasty That Ate Itself

It was a year of mourning for the Red Wings. Their beloved owner, Mike Ilitch, died. So did Joe Louis Arena, the old barn on the Detroit River where the Wings dominated in the mid-to-late ‘90s and early aughts, winning four Stanley Cups, six Presidents’ Trophies, and making the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons. The…

Mike Ilitch Was No Saint

If you only went by what you read in the Detroit papers this week, you’d think Mike Ilitch—the pizza baron and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and Tigers who died last week at the age of 87—was a god incarnate. And for the last three decades, if you’d asked anyone in Michigan, you’d have gotten the sense he was revered…

Mike Ilitch, Owner Of The Tigers And Red Wings, Dead At 87

Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch died this afternoon. He was 87 years old.