On July 8th, 1933, Art Rooney founded the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's exactly 90 years to the day and the Steelers are still alive. They are more than alive. They have been a thorn in many teams' sides for a long time now. Their tradition of excellence and winning are still strong, despite coming from an era where teams died quickly. They have survived every single hurdle that has been thrown at them. No matter what has happened, no matter how good or bad the team has been, the Steelers are still around, with intentions of being around until the end of time itself.
NFL.com
Pittsburgh Steelers Owner Art Rooney II
After giving a $2,500 fee to the NFL, Pittsburgh had a professional football team. When Art Rooney originally brought the team into the NFL, they were named to represent the baseball team in town, as most teams back in the day did. Before they were the Steelers, they were known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. Seven years later, they rebranded to fit the city of Pittsburgh more, as the newly named Steelers would become the pride of Pittsburgh and be the blueprint for what teams should strive to be... eventually.
What Was The Steelers' First Major Challenge?
With the team immediately struggling to get wins and stay stable enough to remain in a league full of teams folding, they lost a large chunk of their players to World War II. For one year, they had to merge with their then-superior in-state rivals, just to be able to keep functioning. For the 1943 season, the Steagles played football as one unit. The Philadelphia Eagles got their team back soon enough, but the Steelers did not.
The Steelers had to find another team to merge with. They eventually did, but it was a team further away than they hoped. To stay alive, they formed Card-Pitt, which was a merger between the Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals. After the 1944 season, the short merging era was finally over and the Steelers could go back to being the Steelers, instead of sharing a team and name with another franchise.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Legendary NFL Scout Bill Nunn poses next to his Award for being in the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
The Steelers had their team back, but without any success on the field. It wasn't until a little-known scout named Bill Nunn found a way to beat the system. As opposed to conforming with the rest of the NFL, he had a front row seat to prospects that no one else looked at. Sports normally finds a way to bring people together, and Nunn's scouting, combined with leadership from Rooney and Chuck Noll helped bring a nation in chaos together in a way.
Even though the main goal wasn't to help with the country, it just happened. The players that Nunn scouted built a dynasty, and the rest is history. The 1974 draft for the Steelers is commonly known as the greatest draft in history. It's not just the greatest draft for the Steelers, but the greatest draft by any single team in the history of the game. Four Hall of Famers were drafted with the first four picks for the team, and a fifth Hall of Famer was signed as an undrafted free agent.
That's how the Steelers got to the present day. They were a team of struggles and pain that forced their way into greatness. The Steelers went from a team that couldn't stop losing, to a team that refused to lose. The last time the Steelers didn't win consistently, they found another franchise face in the process: Ben Roethlisberger. He not only continued the tradition of winning, but helped bring them to the top of the league. Under Roethlisberger the Steelers became the first team to win six super bowls, after being the first dynasty in the Super Bowl era back in the 70s with Noll, Nunn and the super team full of legends.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger celebrates after winning his second Super Bowl.
Even with the game constantly changing, the Steelers have gone back to what made them win six rings. In an offensive-minded game, the Steelers rely on a high-end defensive structure with multiple game-changing players that will ruin an opposing game plan by their mere existence on the field. Even with a third-generation Rooney running the ship and a team trying somewhat to adapt to the modern game, this tradition of winning will continue for 90 more years. They keep proving to be the pride of Pittsburgh in every way.
What do you think about what it took for the Steelers to get to this point, and how their history will fare? Let us know down in the comments, and Happy Birthday Steelers.
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