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Rooney: A Sporting Life
Born to an Irish Catholic working-class family on the Northside of Pittsburgh, Art Rooney (1901–88) dabbled in semipro baseball and boxing before discovering that his real talent lay not in playing sports but in promoting them. Though he was at the center of boxing, baseball, and racing in Pittsburgh and beyond, Rooney is best remembered for his contribution to the NFL, in particular to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team he founded in 1933.
As Rooney led the team in the early years, he came to be known as football’s greatest loser; his influence, however, was instrumental in making the NFL the best-run league in American pro sports. The authors show how Rooney saw professional football—and the Steelers—through the Depression, World War II, the ascension of TV, and the development of the NFL. The book also follows him through the Steelers’ dynasty years under Rooney’s sons, with four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s alone.
The first authoritative look at one of the most iconic figures in the history of the NFL, this book is both a critical chapter in the story of football in America and a thoroughly engaging in-depth introduction to a character unlike any other in the annals of American sports.
As Rooney led the team in the early years, he came to be known as football’s greatest loser; his influence, however, was instrumental in making the NFL the best-run league in American pro sports. The authors show how Rooney saw professional football—and the Steelers—through the Depression, World War II, the ascension of TV, and the development of the NFL. The book also follows him through the Steelers’ dynasty years under Rooney’s sons, with four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s alone.
The first authoritative look at one of the most iconic figures in the history of the NFL, this book is both a critical chapter in the story of football in America and a thoroughly engaging in-depth introduction to a character unlike any other in the annals of American sports.
- GenresSports
704 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2010
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About the author
Rob Ruck
10 books5 followersRob Ruck teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. Author of Sandlot Seasons: Sport in Black Pittsburgh and The Tropic of Baseball: Baseball in the Dominican Republic, his documentary work includes the Emmy Award–winning Kings on the Hill: Baseball’s Forgotten Men. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Maggie Patterson, his coauthor for Rooney: A Sporting Life.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
maybe-read-sometime
March 25, 2011Seems like an incredibly info-dense biography. Talks about the Chief's social connections to all kinds of Pittsburgh sports, including Negro League baseball and hockey. (For anyone wondering who on earth the Chief is, it's the nickname of Art Rooney, Sr., the first owner of the Steelers. He was a really larger than life guy an example of what I like to call the local gentry. He parlayed a big win on horse racing into ownership of the Steelers, which became a huge sports empire.)
September 5, 2011
This is as good and thorough a look at Art Rooney's life as I have seen. It is extremely well researched, tightly written, and a heck of a lot of fun. The book is a great read for followers of the Steelers, the NFL, the City of Pittsburgh, local politics, industrial history, and 20th century life. As much social history as sporting history, the book handles multiple topics very well. Well worth reading.
November 13, 2010
A thorough, well researched biography of an exemplary sportsman. Superior to Ruck's Sandlot Seasons and The Tropic of Baseball, Rooney ends on a perfect note: "Art Rooney had become the story that many Pittsburghers would use to tell about themselves to the world."
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews