The industry rivalries developed into a public spectacle. craved at an unbelievable rate, the pizza in particular, and were so excited when we opened up in their hometowns,” Stuart deGeus, former vice president of concept and industry intelligence at Little Caesars Pizza, said. Throughout the 1980s, both billionaires found their earnings spilling over into sports, real estate, and politics.Īs Little Caesars and Domino’s continued to franchise and expand beyond Michigan, they found an American audience that was ready to consume. Both Monaghan and Mike Ilitch, founder of Little Caesars, made it through the tough early years of building a business. The moment offers a snapshot of just how much spending power a pizza chain empire could generate. “His helicopter landed on the outfield and brought out box after box of pizza,” recalled Bill McGraw, a now-retired Detroit journalist who was there that day. He and Tigers pitcher Jack Morris hopped on Monaghan’s helicopter to execute one of the most extravagant pizza deliveries in history. Luckily, Tom Monaghan, the team’s owner, happened to also own Domino’s Pizza.

The stadium initiated a lockdown, leaving fans, players, and reporters stuck inside. White suburbanites led a riot that ended with police cars being set on fire and officers being pelted with stones and beer bottles. Fans ran onto the field, and crowds outside the stadium partied for hours.Īt some point, the celebration got out of hand. When the team won it all during Game 5 against the San Diego Padres, Detroit exploded in celebration. In the midst of “white flight” to the suburbs, a mass exodus of business, chronic disinvestment, and an increase in poverty and crime, the team gave the city of Detroit - and its surrounding suburbs - something around which everyone could rally. Heading into the World Series, the team was coming off of what some sports analysts say is still the single greatest season of any team in the sport. For Michigan baseball fans of a certain age, the Detroit Tigers of 1984 were something special.

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