In what could perhaps be known as the Immaculate Conception of the NFL, Art Rooney Sr. applied for an NFL franchise on this day in Steelers history.
Although the team — known as the Pittsburgh Pirates for their first seven seasons — wouldn’t officially join the league until July, “The Chief” got the ball rolling by paying a $2,500 franchise fee on May 19, 1933. That $2,500 is the equivalent of someone paying $50,000 for a franchise in 2021.
It was common practice for NFL teams to be named after major league baseball teams back then since baseball was one of the dominant sports in America and pro football was in its infancy.
To distinguish between the two teams, Pittsburgh media referred to the football Pirates as the Rooneymen, a moniker that stuck for decades after the team adopted “Steelers” as the nickname in 1940.
From Steelers.com, an excerpt from an NFL newsletter informing the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Detroit Lions that there was a new kid in town:
“The application of the Pittsburgh Professional Football Club Inc., accompanied by a check for Twenty-Five Hundred ($2,500.00) Dollars is on file in the office of the President. I have already received the unanimous approval of the Executive Committee for this application that will come before the July meeting for ratification by the entire membership.
“The Pittsburgh group is headed by Mr. Arthur Rooney, Pittsburgh, Pa., who has had much experience in the promotion of sporting and athletic events. The club appears to be well financed. The sporting editors of all the Pittsburgh papers are very enthusiastic about this group as well as the outlook for a National League Franchise in that city. They propose to play some early games at night and after it is permissible, under the new Pennsylvania law, to play on Sunday. Games will be played at Forbes Field, home of the Pittsburgh National League Baseball Club.”
It would take decades until the Pittsburgh football club would find success, and even moments when it seemed the team would relocate.
Rooney’s patience and fortitude eventually paid off in the form of Lombardi Trophies — the Steelers won the first of their six Super Bowls in the 1974 season.
The ownership of the Steelers has remained with the Rooney family since the organization’s founding. Art Rooney II is the owner and president of the franchise, handed down to him by his late father, Dan.
Not surprisingly, the Steelers remain one of the league’s most profitable franchises.
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