Arthur Michael Wirtz was a businessman who became involved in hockey as the owner of multiple NHL teams and arenas in Chicago, Detroit, New York and St. Louis. The ailing economy of the 1930s made it possible for him and his partners to acquire the arenas and teams much cheaper than before.

He and James E. Norris bought the Detroit Falcons in 1932, renaming it the Red Wings for the following season. He and Norris were part of a group of investors that bought the Chicago Black Hawks in 1946. As the NHL prohibited one person to be the principal owner of two teams, Norris' interest in the team was represented by his son, James D. Norris, and Bill Tobin. Following the death of James E. Norris on December 4, 1952, the Norris family made arrangements that saw James D. Norris become the owner of the Black Hawks and the New York Rangers alongside Wirtz, while the rest of the Norris family, Bruce, Eleanor and Marguerite concentrated their ownership in the Red Wings.

Wirtz and James D. Norris were forced sold their sizable stakes in the Madison Square Garden Corporation that operated the Rangers, having been found in breach of Federal anti-trust legislation in 1957. Their shares were bought by the Graham-Paige Corporation in 1959.

Wirtz's son Bill inherited the Blackhawks from him, following his death on July 21, 1983.

Family relations
Son: Bill Wirtz
Grandson: Rocky Wirtz
Great-grandson: Danny Wirtz