Steelers Announce News of John Rooney’s Death; 1 of 5 of Art Rooney’s Sons

The legend goes that back in the 1920’s, The Chief liked to gamble on horses and was quite successful at it. Since gambling was illegal in Pennsylvania, he frequently traveled to New York to bet. On one such trip, he met with Giants owner, Tim Mara. Mara was a bookmaker and Rooney was known to read his racing columns. Mara sold Rooney on a horse and Rooney placed a substantial bet. At the time, Rooney’s wife was pregnant and Rooney told Mara that if the child was a boy, he would name it Tim in his honor.

The horse won, and Rooney won a lot of money – reportedly so much that he needed an armored car to bring it all back to Pittsburgh. Rooney was so grateful, he indeed named his son Tim. In a totally fitting manner, Tim Rooney later had a daughter named Kathleen that ultimately married Chris Mara, senior vice president of player personnel for the Giants. 

John Rooney was one of five of Art Rooney Sr.’s sons. He was the brother of former Steelers chairman, Daniel M. Rooney. He grew up on the North Side of Pittsburgh, attended Catholic High School, and was one of the minority stakeholders in the Steelers organization and a member of the Board of Directors.

Rooney owned 16% of the team until 2008 when the Rooney family decided to go public and reorganized the ownership structure. Four of the five brothers sold all or part of their stakes in the team – John and Art Jr. each sold 8%, while Patrick and Timothy sold their entire share to give brother Dan and his son Art II the 30% controlling interest they needed in the team.

John Rooney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2008, at the time of the sale, exactly how he was feeling:

“My brothers sacrificed themselves doing this. They could have gotten more money from another offer. My brothers stood up, you know. It’s the best way to keep it going [in the Rooney family]. I hope Dan lives 20 more years to enjoy them.”

Rooney was a twin, he and his brother Pat were joined by Dan, Art Jr., and Tim. He, along with his twin Pat, attended Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland. After graduation, he taught middle school English.

He also served the Steelers organization by managing the training camp operation at Latrobe, PA. Rooney married his wife, Joanne, in 1961 and they had six children.

The news broke about Rooney’s passing as the city of Pittsburgh was honoring a fallen hero. Former Steelers running back, Franco Harris, was being honored at Acrisure Stadium following his sudden death the week before. Pittsburgh was scheduled to honor Harris and the most incredible play in NFL history – the Immaculate Reception, at their game on Christmas Eve. The team was set to retire Harris’ #32 jersey, only the third jersey number ever retired by the team. However, the historically frigid temperatures and the death of Harris forced them to modify the festivities.