The story of an extraordinary Pittsburgh life, from excerpts found in a newspaper clipping file labeled Rooney, Art Sr. :
Art Rooney of the North Side had to step along at a fast rate to beat Ambrose Johnson, dropping him just before the bell in the third round with a right to the mouth. This was the hardest bout of the night.
— Philadelphia Boxers Beaten at the P.A.A., Post-Gazette, Dec. 18, 1918
At the request of his father, Art Rooney, all-around athlete of the North Side, has decided to abandon professional boxing and will complete his studies in the law school at Duquesne University.
… Rooney had his heart set on becoming a professional boxer until his father stepped in. Asking Art how much he expected to make if successful as a boxer, and receiving the reply, “About $25,000,” Rooney pater told his son he would give him this sum if he would finish his studies and give up the idea of a career in the ring.
— Art Rooney gives up boxing to study law, Post-Gazette, Jan. 28, 1923
Playing their best football of the season, the Hope Harvey eleven turned in a 20-0 victory over the Boston Bulldogs yesterday at Phipps field… A 60-yard run for a touchdown by (Art) Rooney after intercepting a forward pass was a feature of the game.
— Hope Harvey club wins from Bulldogs, Pittsburgh Daily Post, Nov. 28, 1924
Art Rooney, little Northside lad, had a great campaign and his spectacular playing earned him the quarterback position …
— Art Rooney at quarter, Pittsburgh Daily Post, Dec. 13, 1925
Since Art Rooney’s fantastic streak of luck at the Saratoga race track, which put more than $125,000 into his bank account, according to reports, and his name in all the papers, the Northside sportsman has received some 200 fan letters. Most are from optimistic souls who hope in one way or another to share his winnings.
— Art Rooney’s fan mail, Post-Gazette, Nov. 1, 1937
NEW YORK — That man Art Rooney is here again …. The Pittsburgh punter who won $108,000 the opening day at Saratoga last August is tamer this season. He picked up a paltry $3,200 at the Jamaica opening Saturday.
— Art Rooney visits Jamaica, wins $3,200 opening day, Post-Gazette, April 19, 1938
The Steeler chief, just elected to the presidency of the professional football team, has been a storm center of Republican politics in the past. He is widely known in sports circles … and is rated as a formidable candidate in his own Northside district.”
— Rooney, sports leader, enters state senate contest, Post Gazette, March 11, 1946
Arthur J. Rooney, president of the Pittsburgh Steelers and one of Western Pennsylvania’s most prominent sports promoters, yesterday got out of this year’s political contest as suddenly, last Monday, he got in.
That made Rooney’s candidacy one of the shortest on record and it developed that it wasn’t his idea in the first place.
— Rooney quits state senate race, Post-Gazette, March 15, 1946
Art Rooney, to whom gambling has always been a gentleman’s game, was looking ahead to the Kentucky Derby and backward at his past experiences with the horses.
“No other man has been broke so many times and on a park bench,” he philosophized.
Right now, Rooney could afford to buy several carloads of park benches and pad them with foam rubber cushions where the city’s horse players can sit and brood in crestfallen comfort.
— Mr. Rooney tips his derby, Post-Gazette, April 27, 1949
“These are only Art’s $15 friends. If his $1 friends were admitted, we would have to hold picnics at North and South parks.”
— Rooney friend David L. Lawrence quoted in Rooney cheered by 1,500 fans at testimonial, Post-Gazette, Jan. 20, 1964.
“Horses don’t talk back, you know, and that can be a great relief when you spend most of your life around football players.”
— Art Rooney quoted in The Squire of Shamrock Farm, The Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 27, 1964
The plainness of Art Rooney can test (wife) Kathleen. Once, when one of the boys came home after hitting an opponent with a piece of cement in a fight, she asked that his father reprimand him. And Art said, “When you get into a fight, you use whatever’s necessary.”
— Art Rooney, the last sportsman, The Pittsburgh Press, Jan. 18, 1976
Kathleen once asked him, “Are you expecting to die soon?” He answered, “No, why?”
“Because,” said Kathleen, “you haven’t bought a new suit in five years.”
Success has not changed Art Rooney. He still brings panhandlers home for sandwiches and still sends strangers to sit with his wife in her private box at the Steeler games.
— Art Rooney, the last sportsman, The Pittsburgh Press, Jan. 18, 1976
I doubt there is an owner in sports today who is better known to sports writers the country over than Arthur J. Rooney.
He is a man who keeps in touch. He is an inveterate post card writer. No matter where Art goes, and he is forever traveling, he will sit down and write little greetings on cards and send them to as many as a hundred newsmen everywhere.
— Art Rooney and his friends by Al Abrams, Post-Gazette, Dec. 19, 1972
Art Rooney knows all the alleys in Pittsburgh.
“I had to,” the Steeler president said yesterday. “They were my hiding places in the losing days. I don’t take the alleys anymore.”
— No more alley routes for Steeler prez, Post-Gazette, Nov. 28, 1974
Several players recalled how Rooney used to pass through the locker room before games, shaking hands and wishing everyone well. Most of the personal comments usually concerned players families, not game matchups.”
— Steelers mourn Rooney’s death, Post-Gazette, Aug. 26, 1988
