The Chief

    The Super Bowl is coming up!! The Super Bowl is coming up!! The Super Bowl is coming up!!
In the honor of the upcoming Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers we are going to present a two day look at the NFL and the two club from a historical persespective. We start today with a look at the Steelers side. Why start with the Steelers?
   On January 27, 1901 Steelers founder Arthur J Rooney, Sr was born in Coulterville, Pennsylvania. The Village was a Southeastern suburb of Pittsburgh. In 1933 Rooney paid the National Football league $2500 for the right to place a new team in Pittsburgh. The team was originally dubbed the "Pirates" in honor of Rooneys favorite baseball team. After a few years as the Pirates, the team was rebraded with its own indentity as the Steelers. The Steelers struggled through World War II. A pair of one year mergers with first the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Chicago Cardinals allowed Rooney and his team to survive the war.
  In 1972 the lovable loser Steelers gave way to a powerhouse team that has seen the Steelers at or near the top of the leagues standings for much of the last 40 years. With the team in great shape after the 1974 season, Art stepped down from the day to day operation of the club, allowing one of his sons Dan to take day to day operation of the team. Art remained as chairman until he died in 1988.
  Dan Rooney has done a fine job both with the team and in the community. He is currently serving as the United States Ambassador to Ireland. One of Arts grandsons is a member of the US House of Representives. Two of his great-granddaughters are actresses.
  As promised, tomorrow we will look at the upcoming Super Bowl with a look from the Packers side.