The Rooney family is an Irish-American family known for its connections to the sports, acting, and political fields. After emigrating from Ireland in the 1840s, it established its American roots in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1880s.
The Rooneys are primarily known for having been the majority owners and operators of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) since the formation of the franchise in 1933. Art Rooney was the founder and owner of the team, from its establishment as a semi-independent team in the Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit in 1921 until his death in 1988. Art's brother James, who later served as a Pennsylvania state representative, played for the team in the 1920s; their brother Silas entered the priesthood but remained involved in football by becoming athletic director at St. Bonaventure University (which for a time in the 1950s hosted the Steelers' training camp). [1] Following Art's death, ownership of the franchise transferred to Art's oldest son, Dan Rooney, a former United States Ambassador to Ireland. Front office operations have passed from Dan Rooney to his son and current team president, Art Rooney II, in 2017 upon the death of Dan Rooney.
The family members who have had the most influence in the Steelers organization are:
The Rooneys have been credited for much of the team's success. [2] The fundamental approach of the Rooneys to managing the franchise has largely been through patience and consistency, both of which the ownership is renowned for. An example of the team's stability is that there have been only three head coaches employed since 1969, the fewest for any team in American professional sports during that time frame. This approach has proven to be rewarding, given that the Steelers have won six Super Bowls in the post AFL–NFL merger era – with all three coaches (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin) having won at least one Super Bowl and two AFC championships apiece – and the team being a playoff contender in most years.
Dan Rooney's influence as chairman of the league's diversity committee made it a requirement for any team seeking a new head coach to include an interview with at least one ethnic minority candidate during that process. For this reason, the practice has become known as the "Rooney Rule".
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.
—Howard Cosell, October 1982 [3]
The Rooneys are also related to the Mara family, part-owners and founders of the New York Giants. The Mara family name used to be O'Mara and their Rooney family ancestors originate in Newry, County Down. [4] [5]
Actresses Kate Mara and Rooney Mara are the daughters of Timothy Christopher Mara, the vice president of player evaluation for the New York Giants, and Kathleen McNulty (née Rooney). Their paternal grandfather, Wellington Mara, was the long-time co-owner of the Giants, succeeded by their uncle, John Mara. Their maternal grandfather, Timothy James "Tim" Rooney, has run Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York since 1972. [6] [7] The Mara sisters are the great-granddaughters of both New York Giants founder Tim Mara and Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney. [8]
In July 2008 the Rooney family went public with the plan to reorganize the ownership structure of the franchise. Each of the five Rooney brothers owns 16% of the team, combining for 80%, while another related family, the McGinleys, own 20%. Dan Rooney, chairman, stated that his four brothers are moving towards other non-football-related business ventures and he is in talks with them to buy out their shares. However, the other four brothers believe Dan undervalued their shares, and hired Goldman Sachs to give them an estimate on the team. The estimate by Goldman Sachs valued the team between $800 million and $1.2 billion. One potential buyer has been identified, Stanley Druckenmiller, the Pittsburgh billionaire who is the chairman of Duquesne Capital Management and a former money manager for George Soros. Talks to restructure the ownership continued for two years to comply with NFL ownership policies and ensure ownership and operation under the Rooney family. The four brothers' ventures with family race tracks that allow slot machines violate NFL rules of ownership with revenue from gambling enterprises. The ownership structure also violated the NFL rule stating that at least one individual must own 30% of the team to be the principal owner, and no individual owns at least 30% of the team. The team did not expect the negotiations to have any effect on the players or fans.
NFL owners unanimously approved the restructuring of ownership on December 17, 2008, after Dan & Art II obtained the mandated 30% stake via negotiations. Timothy and Patrick Rooney sold their shares outright. Art Jr. John Rooney reduced their shares from 16% to 6%, and the McGinley family reduced their shares from 20% to 10%. Also coming on as partners were Pilot Corporation & Pilot Travel Centers president Jim Haslam III (who would later relinquish his stake upon purchasing the rival Cleveland Browns), Legendary Pictures president & CEO Thomas Tull, and the Paul Family of Pittsburgh, an influential Pittsburgh family (Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp., serves on numerous boards, including University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and University of Pittsburgh), each getting a 16% stake in the team. [9] Dan Rooney mentioned he has no ill will towards Druckenmiller, mentioning he's a great Steelers fan and wishes he remains one.
The Steelers later announced on March 23, 2009, that they added three more investors to the team, the most notable of which is Hall of Fame wide receiver John Stallworth. The other two investors added were GTCR chairman Bruce V. Rauner and the Varischetti Family of Brockway, Pennsylvania, which owns several nursing homes and a commercial real estate business. The deal to add all six new investors was finalized in May 2009. [10]
De Benneville "Bert" Bell was the fifth chief executive and second commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's commercial viability and promote its popularity.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North Division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the seventh-oldest franchise in the NFL, and the oldest franchise in the AFC.
Arthur Joseph Rooney Sr., often referred to as "the Chief", was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football franchise in the National Football League (NFL), from 1933 until his death. Rooney is a member of the Pro 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 to 1988.
Joseph Francis Carr was an American sports executive in football, baseball, and basketball. He is best known as the president of the National Football League from 1921 until 1939. He was also one of the founders and president of the American Basketball League (ABL) from 1925 to 1927. He was also the promotional director for Minor League Baseball's governing body from 1933 to 1939, leading an expansion of the minor leagues from 12 to 40 leagues operating in 279 cities with 4,200 players and attendance totaling 15,500,000.
Daniel Milton Rooney was an American executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL), and son of the Steelers' founder, Art Rooney. He held various roles within the organization, most notably as president, owner and chairman.
Stanley Freeman Druckenmiller is an American billionaire investor, philanthropist and former hedge fund manager. He is the former chairman and president of Duquesne Capital, which he founded in 1981. He closed the fund in August 2010, at which time it had over $12 billion in assets. From 1988 to 2000, he managed money for George Soros as the lead portfolio manager for Quantum Fund. He is reported to have made $260 million in 2008.
Wellington Timothy Mara was an American co-owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1959 until his death. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925. Wellington was a ball boy that year.
The Steagles were the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The two franchises were compelled to field a single combined team because both had lost many players to military service during World War II. The league's official record book refers to the team as "Phil-Pitt Combine", but the unofficial "Steagles", despite never being registered by the NFL, has become the enduring moniker.
Steeler Nation is an official name for the fan base of the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers. The term was coined by NFL Films narrator John Facenda in the team's 1978 highlights film. Steelers Country is often used for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area where the fan base originates or for areas with a large Steelers fan base.
Kate Rooney Mara is an American actress. She is known for work in television, playing reporter Zoe Barnes in the Netflix political drama House of Cards, computer analyst Shari Rothenberg in the Fox thriller series 24 (2006), wronged mistress Hayden McClaine in the FX miniseries American Horror Story: Murder House (2011), Patty Bowes in the first season of the FX drag ball culture drama series Pose (2018), and a teacher who begins an illicit relationship with an underage student, in the FX miniseries A Teacher (2020). For the latter, she received an Independent Spirit nomination for Best New Scripted Series as an executive producer.
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Arthur Joseph Rooney II is an American football executive and lawyer who is the owner and president of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
The commissioner of the National Football League is the chief executive officer of the National Football League (NFL). The position was created in 1941. The current commissioner is Roger Goodell, who assumed office on September 1, 2006.
The J.P. Rooneys were an independent semi-professional American football team, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team was founded by Art Rooney, who is best known for being the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League, and this team is considered to be the beginnings of the modern-day Steelers. The team played at Exposition Park and reportedly had up to 12,000 people in the stands at times.
The Pennsylvania Polka refers to a series of moves affecting the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers franchises in the National Football League (NFL) from 1940 to 1941.
The Eagles–Steelers rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unofficially nicknamed "The Battle of Pennsylvania", this is an in-state, interconference rivalry between the two NFL teams located in the state of Pennsylvania. The two teams do not meet regularly, which has been cited as a reason for the rivalry's low intensity.
The Mara family is an Irish-American family primarily known for owning the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) since the franchise was formed in 1925. The Maras owned the team outright until 1991, when a feud led to one side of the family selling their half interest to Preston Robert Tisch.
Arthur Joseph Rooney Jr. is an American football executive who is the vice president for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). The son of the team's founder, Art Rooney, he has been employed by the team since the 1961 season.