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Mike Ilitch helped pay for Rosa Parks' housing for more than a decade

Mike Ilitch, the former Detroit Tigers owner and Little Caesars founder who died last week, spent more than a decade paying for Rosa Parks' apartment.

The Sports Business Daily reported in 2014 that Ilitch paid for Parks' apartment until her death in 2005.

Damon Keith, a Detroit native and federal judge, helped Parks find a new home after she was robbed and assaulted in 1994. Keith showed a copy of a 1994 check for $2,000 from Little Caesars Enterprises as evidence of Illitch's good deed.

Ilitch's passion for Detroit, winning endeared him to Red Wings fans

Illitch died on Friday at the age of 87.