DETROIT (AP) – Billionaire businessman Mike Ilitch, who founded the Little Caesars pizza empire before buying the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers, won praise for keeping the professional sports teams in the city as others relocated to new suburban stadiums.
Ilitch’s family said in a statement that he died Friday at a local hospital. He was 87. No other details were provided by family spokesman Doug Kuiper.
Known simply as “Mr. I” to most in Michigan, his family called him a visionary who set the tone for them and his company.
“He was a strong businessman, an innovative leader and a loving family man,” Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Friday.
“He was passionate about the city of Detroit and served a critical role in the city’s comeback, investing time, effort and resources to help craft a better vision for Detroit.”
Former President George W. Bush said in a statement that Ilitch was “a self-made man with talent, drive, and a huge heart.”
“He generously gave back to his city and made it a better place,” Bush said.
Ilitch founded Little Caesars in 1959 in suburban Detroit with his wife, Marian. The business – later known for its “Pizza! Pizza!” ads featuring an animated “Little Caesar” – eventually grew into one of the world’s largest carry-out pizza chains with several spin-off companies that now employ 23,000 people worldwide and posted revenues last year of $3.4 billion.
Ilitch was as much a fan of the often-struggling Detroit as he was of sports. When approached in 2009 by organizers of the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, Ilitch agreed to sponsor the annual college football bowl game despite a poor local economy. The game was renamed the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.