stephenrjking

February 10th, 2017 at 6:37 PM ^

Beat me to it.

 

A giant in Detroit sports. As good an owner as any fan could hope for. He worked and spent and made his teams winners. And I have treasured memories as a result.

GOBLUE4EVR

February 10th, 2017 at 6:42 PM ^

Mr I for helping bring the cup back to detroit 4 times and making th tigers something to watch again... I'm sorry that you never got your world series... you will be missed!!! #RipMrI and for those you that didn't know Mr I once assembled one of the great men's slo-pitch softball teams ever to play...

GOBLUE4EVR

February 10th, 2017 at 10:41 PM ^

yes, now there is like 4 or 5 different associations that the "super" teams (hand picked players from across the country play on and get paid) play in and each one has its big tournaments... now in Canada, well ontario does have a league of sorts called the super series and all of the A level teams play in... I can nerd it out even more but I don't want to bore you with exact details of how it works and such...

WorldFlyer747

February 10th, 2017 at 6:43 PM ^

He was a man with tremendous passion for his city, his teams, and his businesses. It is unfortunate that he will not get to see the impact that his crowning jewel will have on downtown Detroit. He was a great owner, the kind that you never heard players complaining about. He will be missed.

alum96

February 10th, 2017 at 6:43 PM ^

Pretty much all you could ask as a sports owner - only complaint by some ever was loyalty had him keep some people around a bit too long but loyalty is a good trait in most cases and lacking in society.  When there was no salary cap in hockey the guy spent amazing amounts of money and took over 2 franchises at low points and turned them around big time.  Which also marks a great businessman (buy low, sell high).  From all accounts a very nice guy too.

Everyone Murders

February 10th, 2017 at 6:49 PM ^

Not only was he a great owner for the Wings and Tigers, but he did so much to revitalize Detroit.  And gave to the community in general, in a humble fashion.

Condolences to the Ilitch family.

WMUgoblue

February 10th, 2017 at 6:51 PM ^

He did everything in his power to help the Tigers win a WS post 2005, up until then he largely ignored them for a long stretch of time. Still a great owner and a genuinely good man, may he rest in peace.

Qmatic

February 10th, 2017 at 6:51 PM ^

He invested in Detroit before it was cool. Thank you for the 4 cups, the Tigers revitalization, the 5 dollar pizza, comerica park, Little Caesars arena, the fox, and everything else.