Art Rooney Arthur Joseph " Art " Rooney , Sr . ( January 27 , 1901 – August 25 , 1988 ) , often referred to as " The Chief " , was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football franchise in the National Football League . Family history . Rooney ' s great - grandparents , James and Mary Rooney , were Irish Catholic s who immigrated from Newry in County Down , Ireland to Canada during the Irish potato famine in the 1840s . While living in Montreal , the Rooneys had a son , Arthur ( who would become Art Rooney ' s grandfather ) . James and Mary later moved to Ebbw 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 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania in 1884 . Along the way the family grew to include nine children of which Dan was the second . Dan Rooney remained in the Pittsburgh area , and eventually opened a saloon in the Monongahela Valley coal town of Coulter , 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 ' s North 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 from Exposition Park , which had been home to the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team until 1909 . Early life . Art Rooney was the oldest of nine children ( six boys and three girls ) of Dan and Maggie Rooney . From an early age he was an exceptional athlete , participating in football , baseball and boxing all of which he pursued with passion . He played on a number of sandlot baseball and football teams and participated in AAU boxing , where he twice lost National AAU Championship bouts . Although he didn ' t attend the Olympic trials , many felt he could have made the U . S . boxing team for the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp , Belgium . He fought and beat the gold medal winner of those Olympics in his weight class , Sammy Mosberg both just before and just after the games . Some speculated that Rooney declined to participate in the Olympics to avoid questions about his amateur status , since he had been participating on semi - professional baseball teams since the age of 15 . Rooney graduated from Duquesne Prep High School at Duquesne University . He turned down multiple scholarship offers from Knute Rockne to play football at the University of Notre Dame . Instead he attended at Georgetown University , Washington & Jefferson College , and Duquesne University . Since then , many members of the Rooney family have graduated from Duquesne and have made many endowments to the university . Pittsburgh Steelers . Rooney ' s affiliation with the National 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 had named his new team the " Pirates " which was also the name of the city ' s long - established Major League Baseball club of which Rooney was a fan since a childhood spent in the shadow of the team ' s stadium . Since the league ' s founding in 1920 , the NFL had wanted a team in Pittsburgh due to the city ' s already - long history with football as well as the popularity of the Pittsburgh Panthers football team , an NCAA national championship contender during this period . The league was finally able to take advantage of Pennsylvania relaxing their blue laws that prior to 1933 prohibited sporting events from taking place on Sundays , when most NFL games take place . The Saratoga Race Course parlay occurred in 1936 where he won about $ 160 , 000 . 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 a five hour train ride to 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 . ( from Screamer : The Forgotten Voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers by Murray Tucker ) Rooney sent shock waves through the NFL by signing Byron " 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 the Detroit Lions the following year . The club did not have a season above . 500 until 1942 , the year after they were renamed the Pittsburgh Steelers . During World War II , the Steelers had some financial difficulties and were merged with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1943 and the Chicago Cardinals in 1944 . After the war , Rooney became team president . He longed to bring an NFL title to Pittsburgh but was never able to beat the powerhouse teams , like the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers . Although the Steelers were reasonably popular in the city during this time , they would remain second - fiddle to the Pittsburgh Pirates until the 1970s and were known in the NFL as the " lovable losers " . The team also made some questionable personnel calls at the time such as cutting a then - unknown Johnny Unitas in training camp ( Unitas would go on to a Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Colts ) and trading their first round pick in the 1965 draft to the Chicago Bears ( who would draft Dick Butkus with the pick ) , among others . Nevertheless , Rooney was popular with owners as a mediator , which would carry over to his son Dan Rooney . He was the only owner to vote against moving the rights of the New York Yanks to Dallas , Texas after the 1951 season due to concerns of racism in the South at the time . ( Ultimately , the Dallas Texans failed after one year , and the rights were moved to Baltimore , Maryland , where the team became the second incarnation of the Baltimore Colts ; that franchise is currently in Indianapolis . ) In 1963 , along with Bears owner George Halas , Rooney was one of two owners to vote for the 1925 NFL Championship to be reinstated to the long - defunct Pottsville Maroons . Pittsburgh Penguins . As a pillar of the community in many aspects , Rooney was asked to lend his considerable influence in the city ' s bid to reclaim an NHL franchise during the league ' s first ever expansion in 1967 . Although Pittsburgh enjoyed championship hockey with the professional but " minor league " Pittsburgh Hornets since it ' s NHL franchise ( the Pirates hockey team ) disbanded in 1930 from the effects of the Great 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 the Pittsburgh Penguins . Later life . Following the AFL - NFL merger in 1970 , the Steelers agreed to leave the NFL Eastern Conference and joined the AFC Central Division . Through expert scouting , the Steelers became a power . In 1972 , they began a remarkable 8 – year run of playoff appearances , and thirteen straight years of winning seasons , including three additional playoff berths . In Rooney ' s 41st season as owner , the club won the Super Bowl . They followed up with Super Bowl victories following the 1975 , 1978 and 1979 seasons . After the 1974 season , Rooney relinquished the day - to - day operation of the club to his son Dan . He remained Chairman of the Board of the club until his death in Pittsburgh in 1988 . In memory of " The Chief , " Steelers wore a patch on the left shoulder of their uniforms with Rooney ' s initials AJR for the entire season . The team ended up finishing 5 - 11 , their worst record since a 1 – 13 showing in 1969 . He is buried at the North Side Catholic Cemetery in Pittsburgh . Legacy . Art Rooney received many awards during his career . In 1964 , he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Duquesne University named their football field in his honor in 1993 . In 1999 Rooney ranked 81st on the " Sporting News " ' " 100 Most Powerful Sports Figures of the 20th Century " list . A statue of his likeness graces the entrance to the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers , Heinz Field . The street that runs adjacent to Heinz Field on Pittsburgh ' s North Side is named " Art Rooney Avenue " in his honor . In 2000 , he was inducted as a " pioneer " into the American Football Association ' s Semi - Pro Football Hall of Fame . During Rooney ' s life , the Steelers would often use a late - round draft pick on a player from a local college like Pitt , West Virginia or Penn State . Though these players rarely made the team , this practice was intended to appeal to local fans and players . The team has occasionally employed this practice after Rooney ' s death , however , they now focus more on talent than geography throughout the entire draft . Rooney also supposedly liked players from Notre Dame due to his Irish Catholic background , which some say explains why he allegedly had the team keep Notre Dame alumnus and wounded Vietnam veteran Rocky Bleier . Bleier would go on to become one of the key members of the team ' s success in the 1970s . Art Rooney is the subject of , and the only character in , the one - man play " The Chief " , written by Gene Collier and Rob Zellers . The play debuted at the Pittsburgh Public Theater in 2003 , and has been revived on three occasions since then . All productions have starred Tom Atkins as Rooney . Today , Rooney is one of the city ' s most beloved figures . Few are talked about with as much reverence as Rooney . At Steeler games , there is a sign that shows a picture of Rooney with his characteristic cigar and under the photo , the word " Believe . " Rooney was married to Kathleen McNulty , and was the grandfather of United States Congressman Thomas J . Rooney ( FL - 16 ) , and the great - grandfather of actresses Kate Mara and Rooney Mara .