Art Rooney

Arthur Joseph Rooney, Sr. (January 27, 1901 – August 25, 1988), 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 was also a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, an Olympic qualifying boxer, and 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.

Family history

Rooney's great-grandparents, James and Mary Rooney, were Irish Catholics 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.

Art Rooney II

Arthur Joseph "Art" Rooney II (born September 14, 1952) is president and co-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League.

He is the oldest of nine children of Steelers’ chairman, Dan Rooney, and Patricia Rooney, and he is the grandson of Steelers’ founder “The Chief,” Art Rooney, Sr.

Rooney was named team president in May 2003. Prior to that, he served as vice president and general counsel of the Steelers, and has served on the board of directors of the Steelers since 1989.

He currently serves as chairman of the NFL’s Stadium Committee, and serves on numerous NFL boards, including the Legislative Committee, the Management Council Executive Committee, the International Committee and the Digital Media Committee.

Rooney graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978 with a B.A. in Political Science. He then attended Duquesne University’s School of Law, where he earned his law degree in 1982.

He currently holds an Of Counsel position with the law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC.

In contrast with their status as perennial also-rans in the pre-merger NFL, where they were the oldest team to never win a league championship, the Steelers of the post-merger (modern) era are one of the most successful NFL franchises. Pittsburgh has won more Super Bowl titles (6), and hosted more (11) conference championship games than any other NFL team. The Steelers share the record for most AFC championships with the New England Patriots (8), and the record for most conference championship games played in with the San Francisco 49ers (15). The Steelers share the record for most Super Bowl appearances with the Patriots and Dallas Cowboys (8). The Steelers lost their most recent championship appearance, Super Bowl XLV, on February 6, 2011.

Ben Roethlisberger

Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger, Sr. (/ˈrɒθlᵻsbɜːrɡər/; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami University (Ohio), and was drafted by the Steelers in the first round (11th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft.

Roethlisberger earned the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2004 and his first Pro Bowl selection in 2007. He became the youngest Super Bowl-winning quarterback in NFL history, leading the Steelers, in only his second professional season, to a 21–10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL at the age of 23. Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a second Super Bowl title in four seasons as they defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, 27–23, after completing a game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the final 35 seconds.

Roethlisberger has been one of the most efficient passers in NFL history. He currently ranks 9th all-time in NFL passer rating (94.0), tied for 6th in yards per attempt (7.93), and tied for 10th in completion percentage (63.85%) among quarterbacks with a minimum of 1,500 career attempts. He has the fourth highest career winning percentage (.710) as a starter in the regular season among quarterbacks with a minimum of 100 starts. He is one of six quarterbacks in NFL history to have beaten at least 31 of the current NFL teams.

Rooney

Rooney may refer to:

See also