 Image of Rooney from "BELIEVE" posters | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | (1901-01-27)January 27, 1901 Coulterville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died: | August 25, 1988(1988-08-25) (aged 87) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Duquesne University Prep |
| College: | Indiana Normal, Georgetown |
| Position: | Owner |
| Career history | |
As a staff member / executive: | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Arthur Joseph Rooney Sr. (January 27, 1901 – August 25, 1988), often referred to as "the Chief", was an American professionalfootball executive. He was the founding owner of thePittsburgh Steelers, anAmerican football franchise in theNational Football League (NFL), from 1933 until his death. Rooney is a member of thePro Football Hall of Fame, was an Olympic qualifying boxer, and was part or whole owner in several track sport venues and Pittsburgh area pro teams. He was the first president of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1933 to 1974, and the first chairman of the team from 1933 until his death in 1988. Art Rooney was 87 years old.
Rooney's great-grandparents, James and Mary Rooney, wereIrish Catholics whoemigrated fromNewry inCounty Down, Ireland to Canada during theGreat Famine in the 1840s. While living inMontreal, the Rooneys had a son, Arthur (who would become Art Rooney's grandfather). James and Mary later moved toEbbw Vale,Wales, where the iron industry was flourishing, taking their son Arthur, then 21, with them. This Arthur Rooney married Catherine Regan (who was also Irish Catholic), in Wales, and they had a son, Dan. Two years after Dan Rooney was born, the family moved back to Canada and eventually ended up inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1884. Along the way the family grew to include nine children of which Dan was the second.[1]
Dan Rooney remained in the Pittsburgh area, and eventually opened a saloon in theYoughiogheny Valleycoal town ofCoulter, Pennsylvania (or Coultersville). This is where Dan Rooney met and wed Margaret "Maggie" Murray, who was the daughter of a coal miner, and where the couple's first son, Arthur Joseph Rooney, was born. Dan and Maggie would eventually settle their family in Pittsburgh'sNorth Side in 1913, where they bought a three-story building at the corner of Corey Street and General Robinson Street. Dan operated a cafe and saloon out of the first floor with the family living above. The building was located just a block fromExposition Park, which had been home to thePittsburgh Pirates baseball team until1909.[1]
Rooney had a brother, Silas Rooney, who later entered the priesthood. Silas Rooney eventually became the athletic director forSt. Bonaventure University in 1947 and invited the Steelers to play their training camp at the university in the 1950s.[2] Another brother, James P. Rooney, later was elected to thePennsylvania General Assembly, winning easily in part because Art hadrenamed the team after James, who also played on the squad, as a promotional tactic.[3]
Rooney attended St. Peter's Catholic School in Pittsburgh,Duquesne University Prep School, then several semesters atIndiana Normal School before completing a final year atTemple University on an athletic scholarship.[4] He was awarded for his athleticism at Indiana (now theIndiana University of Pennsylvania) by being posthumously inducted into the IUP athletic Hall of Fame in 1997. He spent his time there participating on both the basketball and football teams while also playing centerfielder for the Crimson Hawks baseball team.[5]
After his high school graduation in 1919, he dedicated himself to sports. Initially, Rooney became an accomplished boxer, winning the AAU welterweight belt in 1918 and tried out for the 1920 Olympic Team,[6]
He played minor league baseball for both theFlint, Michigan "Vehicles" and theWheeling, West Virginia "Stogies".[7] In 1925 he served as Wheeling's player-manager and led theMiddle Atlantic League in games, hits, runs, stolen bases and finished second in batting average (his brother Dan Rooney, Wheeling's catcher that year, finished third).
Rooney also played the halfback position for the semi-pro Pittsburgh "Hope Harvey" and "Majestic Radio" clubs, the former of which he later took over and renamed theJ.P. Rooneys before purchasing an NFL franchise for $2,500 in 1933 following the repeal of Pennsylvania'sblue laws.[4] During this time, Rooney served as the team'sgeneral manager,head coach and owner. His team played games at the former Exposition Park on the Northside.[8]
Rooney's affiliation with theNational Football League (NFL) began in 1933 when he paid a $2,500 franchise fee to found a club based in the city of Pittsburgh. He named his new team the "Pirates", afterthe city's baseball team, of which Rooney was a fan since childhood.
Since the league's inception in 1920, the NFL had wanted a team in Pittsburgh due to the city's already-long history withfootball as well as the popularity of thePittsburgh Panthers football team, anNCAA national championship contender during this period. The league was finally able to take advantage ofPennsylvania relaxing theirblue laws that prior to 1933 prohibited sporting events from taking place on Sundays, when most NFL games take place.
In 1936, Rooney won aparlay atSaratoga Race Course, which netted him about $160,000. He placed the bet based on a tip fromNew York Giants ownerTim Mara, abookmaker.[9] He used the winnings to hire a coach,Joe Bach, give contracts to his players and almost win a championship. The winnings funded the team until 1941 when he sold the franchise to NY playboy Alex Thompson. Thompson wanted to move the franchise to Boston so he could be within a five-hour train ride of his club. At the same time, the Philadelphia Eagles ran into financial problems. Rooney used the funds from the sale of franchise to get a 70% interest in the Eagles, the other 30% held by Rooney friend and future NFL commissioner, Bert Bell. Bell and Rooney agreed to trade places with Thompson. Bell took the role of President of the Steelers that he relinquished to Rooney in 1946 when Bell became Commissioner. Rooney got his good friend and his sister's father in law, Barney McGinley, to buy Bell's shares. Barney's son Jack, Art's brother in law, retained the McGinley interest that passed to his heirs when he died in 2006.[10]
The Rooneys are the finest people, the people I most respect in American sports ownership. I've always felt that way. And there's no reason to change. They are people of integrity and character. The way they put the Steelers together, to hire a man like Chuck Noll, to emphasize the team concept. I have a whole transcendental feeling for the Steelers and the Rooneys and Pittsburgh.
Rooney sent shock waves through the NFL by signingByron "Whizzer" White to a record-breaking $15,000 contract in 1938. This move, however, did not bring the Pirates a winning season, and White left the team for theDetroit Lions the following year. The club did not have a season above .500 until 1942, the year after they were renamed thePittsburgh Steelers.
During World War II, the Steelers had some financial difficulties and were merged with thePhiladelphia Eaglesin 1943 and theChicago Cardinalsin 1944.
After the war, Rooney became team president. He longed to bring an NFL title toPittsburgh but was never able to beat the powerhouse teams, like theCleveland Browns andGreen Bay Packers. The Steelers also struggled with playing in a city and era where baseball was king and were treated as something of a joke compared to the Pirates. The team also made some questionable personnel calls at the time such as cutting a then-unknownJohnny Unitas in training camp (Unitas would go on to aHall of Fame career with theBaltimore Colts) and trading their first round pick in the1965 draft to theChicago Bears (who would draftDick Butkus with the pick), among others.
Nevertheless, Rooney was popular with owners as a mediator, which would carry over to his sonDan Rooney. He was the only owner to vote against moving the rights of theNew York Yanks toDallas, Texas after the1951 season due to concerns ofracism in theSouth at the time.[12] (Ultimately, theDallas Texans failed after one year, and the rights were moved toBaltimore, where the team became theBaltimore Colts.The team nowplays in Indianapolis.) In 1963, along with Bears ownerGeorge Halas, Rooney was one of two owners to vote for the1925 NFL Championship to be reinstated to the long-defunctPottsville Maroons.
The Steelers struggled post-World War II. Between 1950 and 1959, the Steelers posted a record of 49–63–3 with just a single winning season in1958 where they missed the postseason.[13] The team also struggled with finding a consistent head coach with the longest tenured of that decade beingBuddy Parker from 1957 until 1964 withfour coaching hires being made in that decade alone.
Throughout the 1960's, Rooney's involvement in the organization waned. By 1969, he relinquished his position of managing day-to-day operations, handing the role to his son,Dan M. Rooney. From 1969 until his death in 1988, Rooney acted as the team's chairman andPresident Emeritus. In 1972, they began an 8–year run of playoff appearances, and 13 straight years of winning seasons, including three additional playoff berths. In Rooney's 41st season as owner, the club wontheir first Super Bowl. He oversaw the team subsequently win three more (X,XIII andXIV).
As a pillar of the community in many aspects, Rooney was asked to lend his considerable influence in the city's bid to reclaim anNHL franchise during the league's expansion in 1967. Although Pittsburgh enjoyed championship hockey with the professional but "minor league"Pittsburgh Hornets since its NHL franchise (thePirates hockey team) disbanded in 1930 from the effects of theGreat Depression, many city leaders were pushing for the region to become more "major league" suggesting that Mr. Rooney use his influence in the sports industry to have the league award Pittsburgh a franchise. Rooney proved his worth and from 1967 until the early 1970s was a part owner of thePittsburgh Penguins.[14][15]
In a 1981 interview by thePittsburgh Press Rooney related that "from time to time he had helped financially support theNegro league team, theHomestead Grays, and . . . was a better baseball fan than football fan."[16]
Rooney also acquired theYonkers Raceway in 1972, the Palm Beach Kennel Club, Green Mountain Kennel Club in Vermont, Shamrock Stables in Maryland and owned theLiberty Bell Park Racetrack outside Philadelphia.[17]
Following theAFL–NFL merger in 1970, the Steelers agreed to leave the NFL Eastern Conference and joined the AFC Central Division.
I'll never forget the way he introduced me, 'This is Ralph Giampaolo, a member of our organization.' Not a member of our ground crew. Not some rinky-dink bum. But a member of 'our organization'. As far as[Curt] Gowdy knew, I was vice president of the team. Mr. Rooney made me feel 10 feet tall.
Rooney continued to work with the team until his death, often helping to scout talent for the Steelers' roster. He held authority over team decisions for much of the 1970's and 1980's despite taking a diminished position.
On August 25, 1988, Rooney died of complications from a stroke at the age of 87. An August 1987Pittsburgh Press story stated that Rooney never missed a Hall of Fame induction ceremony in all 25 years, and that he was asked to present his third inductee,John Henry Johnson, that month.[19] In memory of "the Chief," Steelers wore a patch on the left shoulder of their uniforms with Rooney's initialsAJR for the entire season. The teamended up finishing 5–11, their worst record since a 1–13 showing in1969. He is buried at theNorth Side CatholicCemetery in Pittsburgh.[20]
In 1964, he was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame.Duquesne University named their football field in his honor in 1993. In 1999 Rooney ranked 81st on theSporting News' "100 Most Powerful Sports Figures of the 20th Century" list. A statue of his likeness graces the entrance to the home of thePittsburgh Steelers,Heinz Field. The street that runs adjacent to Heinz Field on Pittsburgh's North Side is named "Art Rooney Avenue" in his honor.[21][22] In 2000, he was inducted as a "pioneer" into the American Football Association's Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame.[23]
During Rooney's life, the Steelers would often use a late-round draft pick on a player from a local college likePitt,West Virginia orPenn State. Though these players rarely made the team, this practice was intended to appeal to local fans and players.
Art Rooney is the finest person I've ever known.
[The] most popular sports figure in history.
Art Rooney is the subject of, and the only character in, the one-man playThe Chief, written by Gene Collier and Rob Zellers.
My father always used to tell us boys, "Treat everybody the way you'd like to be treated. Give them the benefit of the doubt. But never let anyone mistake kindness for weakness." He took the Golden Rule and put a little bit of the North Side in it.
Arthur J. Rooney was married to Kathleen Rooney née McNulty (1904–1982) for 51 years, until her 1982 death. Kathleen was the mother of Art's five sons, who areDan Rooney, the chairman of the board of directors of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a formerUnited States Ambassador to Ireland,Art Rooney Jr., Timothy Rooney, Patrick Rooney, and John Rooney (all also directors of thePittsburgh Steelers). She is also the grandmother of the couple's 32 grandchildren, including current Steelers presidentArt Rooney II andU.S. RepresentativeThomas J. Rooney (R, FL-16). The couple also has about 75 great-grandchildren, including actress sistersKate Mara andRooney Mara.[27][28][29][30]
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