One of the great pioneers of the sports world,
Art Rooney passed away on August 25, 1988 following a stroke at the age of 87. "The
Chief," as he was affectionately known, is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
and is remembered as one of Pittsburgh’s great people.
Born on January 27, 1901 in Coultersville,
Pa., Art Rooney was the oldest of Daniel and Margaret Rooney’s nine children. He grew
up in Old Allegheny, now known as Pittsburgh’s North Side, and until his death he
still lived on the North Side just a short distance from Three Rivers Stadium.
Rooney attended St.
Peter’s Parochial School and Duquesne University Prep School. He studied collegiately
at Indiana (Pa.) Normal, which is now Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as at
Georgetown and Duquesne.
An exceptional all-around athlete, Rooney held
middleweight and welterweight titles from the AAU Boxing Championships and was named to
the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team in 1920, although he did not participate in the Olympic
Games. He played minor league baseball from 1920-25 before a promising career was cut
short by an arm injury. Rooney continued playing football for several semi-pro teams in
the Pittsburgh area. He was married on June 11, 1931 to Kathleen McNulty, and the couple
had five sons - Daniel, Art Jr., Tim, John and Pat. In 1964, Rooney was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame for his contributions to the growth of the NFL and the
Pittsburgh Steelers.
1930s: After founding the Pirates in
1933, Rooney watched his club struggle through its first seven seasons with just 22 wins
and five different head coaches. While home games were played at Forbes Field, Rooney
often took his team to such cities as Johnstown, Latrobe, Youngstown, New Orleans, and
Louisville in the 1930s due to competition with baseball and college football.
In 1938 Rooney signed Colorado All-America
Byron "Whizzer" White to a $15,800 contract, making White the first "big
money" player in the NFL. White led the league in rushing that year and is one of the
NFL’s most illustrious alumni. He served 31 years as a Justice of the United States
Supreme Court before retiring in 1993.
1940s: In 1940 Rooney changed the team
name to the Pittsburgh Steelers, representing the heritage of Pittsburgh. The first
winning record in the organization’s history came in 1942 when head coach Walt
Kiesling led the Steelers to a 7-4 finish with the league-leading rushing of rookie Bill
Dudley. But the next year Dudley joined the Armed Forces along with many other NFL players
as the nation went to war. With rosters depleted, Rooney merged the Steelers with the
Philadelphia Eagles in 1943 (Phil-Pitt "Steagles") and with the Chicago
Cardinals (Card-Pitt) in 1944.
Rooney hired legendary Pitt coach Jock
Sutherland in 1946, and Dudley returned from the war to earn NFL MVP honors, leading the
league in rushing, interceptions, and punt returns. Today, Dudley is a member of the Pro
Football Hall of Fame.
Sutherland led the 1947 Steelers to an 8-4
record for a share of the Eastern division title, but they lost their first-ever
postseason game, 21-0 to Philadelphia. Sutherland died suddenly the following spring while
on a scouting trip.
1950s: Succeeding Sutherland, John
Michelosen was head coach for the 1948-51 seasons, compiling a 20-26-2 record. In 1952 Joe
Bach returned for his second stint with the Steelers, having coached the team previously
in 1935-36. The Steelers became the last team to abandon the single wing for the
T-formation in 1952.
Bach resigned for health reasons following the
1954 season and was replaced by assistant coach Walt Kiesling, who had been the
Steelers’ head coach twice previously. Kiesling’s three stints covered the
1939-40, 1941-44, and 1954-56 campaigns.
1960s: Buddy Parker was named head
coach in 1957 and over the next eight years he led the Steelers to five non-losing
seasons. Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne quarterbacked the team through three of
those campaigns, leading the Steelers to a 9-5 mark and a playoff game vs. Detroit in
1962, which the Steelers lost 17-10. Parker completed his tenure with a 51-48-6 record and
ranks third among all-time Steelers coaches for career wins.
Brief stints by Mike Nixon in 1965 and Bill
Austin from 1966-68 preceded the hiring of the 37-year-old Chuck Noll on January 27, 1969.
Noll began to rebuild the Steelers through the draft, starting with the defense when he
selected defensive tackle Joe Greene with his first choice in 1969. Today Greene is a
member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1970s: A 1-13 record in 1969 gave the
Steelers the first overall choice in the 1970 draft, with which Noll addressed the offense
by selecting quarterback Terry Bradshaw, another Hall of Famer, after the Steelers won the
first selection by winning a coin toss with the Chicago Bears. Cornerback Mel Blount was
added in the third round that year, followed by linebacker Jack Ham in 1971 and running
back Franco Harris in 1972. In all, Noll drafted six players who are now enshrined in the
Hall of Fame including three in his first 20 picks and four of his first 38.
Two significant changes took place in 1970,
when the Steelers moved from the NFL Century Division to the AFC Central with the merger
of the American Football League and the NFL. The Steelers also moved into a new home as
Three Rivers Stadium opened. Previously, the Steelers had played home games at Forbes
Field from 1933-57 and at both Forbes Field and Pitt Stadium from 1958-63. From 1964-69
the Steelers played at Pitt Stadium until Three Rivers opened in 1970.
Gradual improvement in the early 1970s
resulted in the team’s first division title in 1972 with an 11-3 record. In the first
playoff game at Three Rivers the Steelers defeated the Oakland Raiders 13-7 with Franco
Harris’ "Immaculate Reception" in the final minute. Despite a 21-17 loss
the following week to the undefeated Miami Dolphins, the Steelers had reached a new
plateau.
It took 40 years for the Steelers to finally
win their first division title, but over the next decade they achieved a level of success
unprecedented in professional football.
In 1973 the Steelers won a wild card playoff
berth with a 10-4 record. Oakland avenged their loss from the previous year, however, with
a 33-14 defeat of the Steelers in the playoffs.
The Steelers won their first of six
consecutive AFC Central titles in 1974 and marched past Buffalo (32-14) and Oakland
(24-13) en route to their first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl IX. The fierce
Pittsburgh defense led the way to a 16-6 victory vs. the Minnesota Vikings, and Art Rooney
was presented the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time.
In 1975 the Steelers won 11 straight games to
finish 12-2 and claim their second consecutive division crown. After defeating Baltimore
(28-10) and Oakland (16-10) in the playoffs the Steelers became the third team in NFL
history, joining Green Bay and Miami, to win back-to-back Super Bowls with a 21-17 win
versus the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X.
The 1976 Steelers struggled to a 1-4 start
before reeling off nine straight victories including five shutouts to win the division
with a 10-4 mark. They defeated Baltimore 40-14 in the playoffs, but lost to Oakland,
24-7, after both starting running backs, Harris and Rocky Bleier, were injured. The
following year the Steelers dropped a 34-21 decision to Denver in the first round of the
playoffs after posting a 9-5 regular-season record.
In 1978 the Steelers made history after a
league-best 14-2 regular season and playoff wins versus Denver (33-10) and Houston (34-5).
Their 35-31 Super Bowl XIII win versus Dallas made the Steelers the first team to win
three Super Bowls.
Yet another standard was set the following
year when the 1979 Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 31-19, in Super Bowl XIV to
make them the first team in history to win four Super Bowls and the only team to win
back-to-back Super Bowls twice. The Super Bowl victory followed a 12-4 regular season and
playoff wins versus Miami (34-14) and Houston (27-13). With six consecutive AFC Central
crowns, eight straight years of playoff appearances and four Super Bowl championships, the
Steelers were tagged the "Team of the Decade" for the 1970s.
1980s: As the 1980s opened the Steelers
stumbled, failing to make the playoffs in 1980 and 1981 with records of 9-7 and 8-8.
In 1982 the Steelers celebrated the
team’s 50th anniversary by qualifying for the playoffs with a 6-3 finish in a
strike-interrupted season. During the season an anniversary banquet was held to
commemorate the team’s first 50 seasons and to honor the Steelers’ all-time team
as selected by fan voting. Thousands of fans were attracted to Pittsburgh for a week of
activities and exhibits before the anniversary season was ended by San Diego’s 31-28
win in the playoffs. This would be the last playoff game at Three Rivers until the 1992
season, a span of 10 years.
The 1983 Steelers won their eighth division
title with a 10-6 record, but fell in the postseason, 38-10 to the Los Angeles Raiders.
The following year the Steelers won their ninth division crown and the team advanced to
the AFC Championship game with a 24-17 playoff win at Denver. A 45-28 loss to Miami in the
AFC Championship game prevented the Steelers from a fifth Super Bowl appearance.
The Steelers’ streak of 13 consecutive
non-losing seasons came to an end in 1985 with a 7-9 finish, followed by 6-10 in 1986.
Playoff hopes remained alive in 1987 until the Steelers lost their last two games to
finish 8-7 during the strike-shortened season.
In 1988 the team suffered through its worst
campaign in 19 years with a 5-11 record. The next season got off to a similar start with
losses of 51-0 and 41-10 in the first two games as the offense failed to score in the
first month of the season. But the young team fought back to finish 9-7 and earn a wild
card playoff berth on the season’s final weekend. An exciting 26-23 overtime playoff
win in Houston was followed by a heartbreaking 24-23 divisional playoff loss at Denver in
which the Steelers led until the final minutes.
1990s: A
9-7 finish in 1990 left the Steelers in a three-way tie for the AFC
Central lead, but they were eliminated from playoff contention by a
2-4 division record. The 1991 team finished second in the division despite
a 7-9 record, winning the last two games under Noll at home against
the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns.
On December 26, 1991 Noll announced his
retirement from football after 39 consecutive seasons, the last 23 as the Steelers’
head coach which made him one of only four men to coach the same team for 23 consecutive
years. He left as the fifth-winningest coach in NFL history with an overall record of
209-156-1, and as the only coach to win four Super Bowls. Noll was rewarded in 1993 with
his election to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
A new era began in 1992 with the retirement of
Noll and the arrival of 34-year-old Bill Cowher, the National Football League’s
youngest head coach at the time he assumed control. In the first season of the new era,
the Steelers won the AFC Central division crown for the first time since 1984 with an 11-5
record. While the team enjoyed new-found success, Cowher was recognized by the Associated
Press as the NFL’s Coach of the Year and six Steelers played in the Pro Bowl, the
most in more than a decade.
Under Cowher the Steelers became the first AFC
team since the 1970 merger to claim its 10th division title. Their 11-5 record equaled the
best in the conference and gave the Steelers the home field throughout the playoffs, but
in the first postseason game at Three Rivers in exactly 10 years the Steelers were
defeated by eventual AFC champion Buffalo, 24-3.
In 1993, the Steelers earned a wild card
playoff berth, marking their first consecutive playoff appearances since the 1983-84
seasons. A 9-7 record was good for second place in the division, but the season ended in a
27-24 overtime loss in Kansas City in the AFC wild-card game.
The 1994 Steelers won seven of their final
eight regular-season games for their strongest finish since 1978. They captured their
second division title in three years with the AFC’s best record of 12-4. After a 29-9
victory over the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the playoffs, Pittsburgh hosted
their first AFC Championship game since 1984. The game went down to the wire and the
Steelers lost to the San Diego Chargers, 17-13.
At 38, Bill Cowher became the youngest head
coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl. Along the way, Cowher’s team captured their
third AFC Central division title in four years, made their fourth straight playoff
appearance, and won the Steelers’ first AFC title since 1979. After a first-round
bye, they defeated the Buffalo Bills (40-21) and the Indianapolis Colts (20-16), before
losing to the Dallas Cowboys 27-17 in Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Arizona.
In 1996, injuries forced Cowher to use 40
different starters during the course of the season. But the Steelers’
"never-say-die" attitude led to a 10-6 finish and their fifth consecutive trip
to the playoffs. Cowher earned his 50th regular-season win Nov. 3, 1996 in his 73rd game
to become the eighth fastest to reach 50 wins. He ended the season with 57 career
victories ranking him as the second winningest coach in team history, behind his
predecessor Noll.
The Steelers captured their fourth consecutive
AFC Central title in 1997, while posting an 11-5 record. They were one play away from
earning their sixth Super Bowl appearance and lost to Denver, 24-21, in the AFC
Championship game.
In 1998, the Steelers finished a disappointing
7-9, losing their last five regular-season games and missing the playoffs for the first
time under Bill Cowher. It marked the first time that Cowher had been associated with a
team with a losing record during his 14-year coaching career.
By the mid-1960s, Steelers founder Art Rooney
had begun to turn over much of the operation of the Steelers to his oldest son, Daniel M.
Rooney. After having worked in every area of the organization since 1955, Dan Rooney was
named president of the Steelers in 1975. Now in his 44th year in the organization, he is
one of the most active NFL owners and one of Pittsburgh’s most involved executives in
civic affairs.
Among his community activities, Dan Rooney is
a board member for The United Way of America, The American Ireland Fund, The American
Diabetes Association, Presbyterian University Hospital, The Pittsburgh History and
Landmarks Foundation and Duquesne University.
Dan Rooney has been a member of several NFL
committees over the past 30 years. He has served on the board of directors for the NFL
Trust Fund, NFL Films and the Scheduling Committee. He was appointed chairman of the
Expansion Committee in 1973, which considered new franchise locations and directed the
addition of Seattle and Tampa Bay as expansion teams in 1976.
In 1976 Rooney was also named chairman of the
Negotiating Committee, and in 1982 he contributed to the negotiations for the Collective
Bargaining Agreement for the NFL and the Players’ Association. He again played a key
role in the labor agreement reached between NFL owners and players in 1993. Rooney is
currently a member of the eight-person Management Council Executive Committee, the Hall of
Fame Committee, and the NFL Properties Executive Committee. In February 1999, he was named
the recipient of the Philadelphia Maxwell Football Club’s Francis J. "Reds"
Bagnell Award for outstanding contributions to the game of football.
Daniel M. Rooney was born on Pittsburgh’s
North Side on July 20, 1932. He is a 1950 graduate of North Catholic High School, where he
played quarterback on the varsity football team. He went on to graduate from Duquesne
University in 1955 with a bachelor of arts degree in accounting. Rooney and his wife
Patricia live on the North Side.