Overview
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.
Full Product Details
Author: Rob Ruck ,
Maggie Jones Patterson ,
Michael P. Weber
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Imprint: University of Nebraska Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 5.10cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 1.211kg
ISBN: 9780803222830
ISBN 10: 0803222831
Pages: 277
Publication Date: 01 April 2010
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
One of the best books on football written so far this century... Assiduously researched, Rooney is more than a biography. -Allen Barra, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- Allen Barra Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Filled with incredible details, Rooney gets behind the man and the legend who founded the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933. -frommersports.blogspot.com frommersports.blogspot.com An authoritative look at one of the most iconic figures in the history of the NFL, Rooney, A Sporting Life, is both a critical chapter in the story of football in the United States and a thoroughly engaging, in-depth introduction to a character unlike any other in the annals of American sports. -Pennsylvania Heritage Pennsylvania Heritage Rooney: A Sporting Life is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about a true American success story in sports. This book fully captures the early life of Art 'the Chief' Rooney Sr., an American icon who is known for the legacy he left in the Steelers but isn't known as well for his amazing accomplishments in racing and as an athlete. The Chief is to sports what Seabiscuit is to horse racing, and this book captures the man and the legend. -John Clayton, ESPN -- John Clayton
""Rooney: A Sporting Life"" is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about a true American success story in sports. This book fully captures the early life of Art Rooney Sr., an American icon who is known for the legacy he left in the Steelers but isn't known as well for his amazing accomplishments in racing and as an athlete. The Chief is to sports what Seabiscuit is to horse racing, and this book captures the man and the legend.""---John Clayton, ESPN ""Art Rooney personified Pittsburgh as much as any person can epitomize a city. His weathered face, hard accent, love of gambling, and enormous heart captured the very soul of the three-rivers city. It is hard---hell, impossible for any person not living in Dallas---not to love Rooney. And it is impossible not to love this biography of Rooney. It is true to Rooney and Pittsburgh. Reading it, I could feel the pre-Renaissance grit of the steel town.""---Randy W. Roberts, Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University and coeditor of ""One for the Thumb: The New Steelers Reader"", 2nd edition
Rooney: A Sporting Life is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about a true American success story in sports. This book fully captures the early life of Art Rooney Sr., an American icon who is known for the legacy he left in the Steelers but isn't known as well for his amazing accomplishments in racing and as an athlete. The Chief is to sports what Seabiscuit is to horse racing, and this book captures the man and the legend. ---John Clayton, ESPN Art Rooney personified Pittsburgh as much as any person can epitomize a city. His weathered face, hard accent, love of gambling, and enormous heart captured the very soul of the three-rivers city. It is hard---hell, impossible for any person not living in Dallas---not to love Rooney. And it is impossible not to love this biography of Rooney. It is true to Rooney and Pittsburgh. Reading it, I could feel the pre-Renaissance grit of the steel town. ---Randy W. Roberts, Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University and coeditor of One for the Thumb: The New Steelers Reader , 2nd edition
Author Information
Rob Ruck is a senior lecturer of history at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of The Tropic of Baseball, available in a Bison Books edition. Maggie Jones Patterson is an associate professor of journalism at Duquesne University and coauthor of Behind the Lines: Case Studies in Investigative Reporting. Michael P. Weber (1936–2001) is the author of Don't Call Me Boss: David L. Lawrence, Pittsburgh's Renaissance Mayor.
