Skopje, 31 July 2024 (MIA) — The audience at a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians wore baseball caps with the Macedonian flag to mark Macedonian Heritage Day, the United Macedonian Diaspora said in a press release. 

According to the non-governmental organization promoting the interests of Macedonians and Macedonian communities worldwide, hundreds of Macedonians in Detroit celebrated Macedonian Heritage Day for the first time on July 30. 

The celebration was organized by the NGO in partnership with the Detroit Tigers owners, the Iltch family whose ancestors came from the Macedonian villages of Dragosh and Bouf.

The event was sponsored by several Macedonian-American company owners.

The Detroit Tigers provided audience members with baseball caps with the team's logo and the colors of the Macedonian flag. 

"During the baseball game at Comerica Park stadium against the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tiger fans wearing the Macedonian flag baseball caps were shown on the big screen," the UMD release says.

According to the UMD, the celebration highlighted the significance of the Macedonian-American community and the cultural diversity of Detroit as well as "the Macedonian heritage that Mike Ilitch proudly and devotedly spread and never forgot and also the Macedonians who continue to celebrate it throughout Detroit and throughout America."

Michael Ilitch (1929-2017) was an American entrepreneur and restaurateur who founded and owned the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He also owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. mr/

Photo: Anthony Ballios