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Sports_
Friday, June 4, 1982 The Michigan Daily
$5 MILLION SALE ENDS 50 YEARS OF OWNERSHIPa
Norris sells Red Wings

DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Red
Wings, last-place finishers in their
National Hockey League division the
past four seasons, have been sold to the
owner of a pizza store chain, team of-
ficials announced yesterday.
Mike Ilitch purchased the team from
the family of the late James D. "Pop"
Norris, owners of the Red Wings for the
past 50 years. The transaction was
made pending approval of the NHL
Board of Governors.
Details of the sale, completed Wed-
nesday, were not disclosed. However,
Ilitch was said to have paid about $5
million for the team and its two farm
clubs, Kalamazoo, Mich., of the Inter-
national Hockey League and Glens
Falls, N.Y., of the American Hockey
League.
Lincoln Cavalieri, the team's vice
president, told a hastily called news
conference that the sale did not include
the Olympia Corp., which owns rights
to the arena, including concessions
sales.-
Ilitch said he intends to "give the
team back to its fans."
"I think the fans have felt left out,"
said Ilitch. "I think it's time we
restored traditions of the past 50 years.
We've had some tough sledding, but I
think we can turn it around."

Ilitch said he would take an active
role in the team as its owner, but said
he intended to let the general manager
and the coach run the daily operations.
Billy Dea, who was named interim
coach late last season, will remain in
that capacity until a permanent coach
is named, General Manager Jimmy
Skinner said.
"I do feel I made a good buy,
businesswise," said Ilitch, 50, who
owned the Detroit Caesars professional
softball team from 1977 to 1979. "I think
I will make money, yes."
"I feel it's my responsibility to prov-
ide the environment. That's what I in-
tend to do," said Ilitch, who owns some
300 fast-food places, mostly Little
Caesars Pizza stores, in 11 states. "I
know I've got to act quickly. However,
the ink is not even dry on the contract
yet."
Norris, an industrialist and former
hockey player, assumed ownership of
the team in 1932 when he bought the
NHL's Detroit Falcons and renamed
them the Red Wings. He borrowed the
name and logo of a winged wheel from
the Winged Wheelers of the Montreal
Athletic Association, the team for
which he once played.
His son, Bruce A Norris, a multi-
millionaire grain dealer and shipping

Ar rnotoo
LINCOLN CAVALIERI (left), vice president of the Red Wings, shakes han-
ds with new owner Mike Ilitch. Hitch who owns a chain of pizza stores,
bought the Red Wings for $5 million.
magnate who lives in Miami, was playoffs just once since 1970-71.
chairman and president of the club at Ilitch said he would interview Skin-
the time of the sale. ner, who has been with the club in
The Red Wings have finished in last various capacities for the past 35 years,
place for the past four years in the but he gave no guarantee that Skinner
Norris Division. The club lost $11.8 would be allowed to stay on as general
million in five years ending with the manager.
1980-81 season. The team has made the Skinner has said he may retire.

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MAJOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP:

Blue Jays' Leal
TORONTO (AP) - Luis Leal exten- in an argument between John and Gar-
ded his lifetime record against Tommy cia.
John to 3-0 with a four-hitter as the Pirates 5, Expos 4
Toronto Blue Jays defeated the New PITTSBURGH (AP)- Tony Pena's
York Yankees 3-1 yesterday. one-out double in the bottom of the 10th
Leal, who set down11 Yankees in a
row after John Mayberry doubled in the
fourth, upped his record to 4-3 with his
third complete game of the season.
John, 4-5, was seeking his fourth con-
secutive triumph.
IT WAS THE only game played
yesterday in the American League.
The Jays scored a pair of runs off
John in the second inning. Anthony
Johnson doubled to center and Buck
Martinez followed with a double into the
right field corner. After advancing to
third on a grounder, Martinez scored on
a single to right by Alfredo Griffin.
New York cut the margin to 2-1 in the
fourth when Craig Nettles' grounder
scored. Oscar Gamble. Gamble
reached on a single and moved to third
on Mayberry's double - his first hit in
20 at-bats against his former team-
mates.
Toronto scored its final run in the
fifth on Wayne Nordhagen's pinch-hit
single that scored Damaso Garcia.
With one out Garcia had singled to cen-
ter and moved to third on Iorg's single
to right.
The fifth inning also witnessed the
first ejection of the year for Yankees
Manager Gene Michael, who was
tossed out of the game by home plate NEW YORK YANKEE Mike Patters
umpire Rich Garcia after interceding fin applies the late tag. The Blue Jay

1

stops Yanks, 3-1
inning scored Jason Thompson with the sacrifice by Mike Easler. Pena then
winning run as the Pittsburgh Pirates doubled past a diving Chris Speier at
defeated the Montreal Expos 5-4 shortstop to drive in Thompson. It was
yesterday the second straight game that Pena ac-
Thompson led off the inning with a counted for the game-winning hit in the
walk and moved to second on a Pirates' final turn at bat.

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{

AP Photo
son slides into second with a stolen base as Toronto Blue Jay shortstop Alfredo Grif-
s won the game 3-1 and took three out of four from New York.

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