Christopher Botta of Sports Business Daily recently spent 90 minutes with Mike and Marian Ilitch, discussing everything from Petr Klima to Mike growing up in Detroit, the son of Macedonian immigrants, and his minor league career in the Tigers' farm system.
It's a rare interview, but not overly hard-hitting. In fact, there are no questions, so it has the feel of an oral history -- and thus no nosy interrogatories about how the Ilitch empire has managed all of its downtown properties over the years, and whether taking public money for a new hockey arena is a good public policy in a city that is $18 billion in debt.
Yet Ilitch is a unique Detroiter. He rose from modest circumstances, with a high school education, and ended up becoming the impresario of downtown Detroit entertainment and sports, thanks to his decision 50 years ago to franchise his Little Caesars' pizza outlets, a decision that made him a multi-millionaire.
In the conversation, Ilitch discusses everything from his tryout at Briggs (Tiger) Stadium to the need to buy Iron Curtain hockey players hot sports cars.
"I look at me and Detroit as one," Ilitch told Botta. "The city is like a family member to me. I got sick and tired of people saying to me that Detroit wasn’t special. When I’d tell people that I was from Detroit, they’d look at me like they felt sorry for me. I decided I was going to do everything possible so that one day everyone would view Detroit as a great city."
