Awesome Source Of Steelers History, and Great Read

Has anyone else read [i]Dan Rooney: My 75 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL[/i]?... Man, I'm only half-way thru the 300+ pages, and must say that it's one of the absolute BEST reads on the Steelers I've come across, and I've read quite a few...

[img]http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/2081/79419zj4.jpg[/img]

My dad read the book and passed it on to me... I actually put it by the side for a while thinking it would be possibly boring, but it is full of stories about Art Sr. and the team in general... Also plenty of facts for those of you that thought you knew your team (like me...). ... I always thought I knew most of the history, and maybe I did, but this book has brought to light many facts I didn't recall....

- Did you know that the first ever pro football game was played in Pittsburgh?

- Dan Rooney was the one to inform Roger Goodell of his election to the commissioners' office.

- Art Sr. actually liked baseball more than football, and had a broadcast removed from KDKA when the Pirates were playing a make-up game back in the late '60s.

- Bert Bell, who was a co-owner of the Steelers back in the '40s, relinquished his stake in the team to become the Commissioner of the league. He is also credited with creating the current draft system where the worst team picks first and best last, so as to keep the league competitive.

- Dan Rooney helped form the initial tv contracts and blackout rules... The more "well-off" organizations wanted a bigger share, but he threatened to blackout thier games in Pittsburgh unless the contract was fair.

- The Steelers got a 3 million dollar bonus to switch to the AFC from the NFL during the AFL/NFL merger. And the only way it happened was due to tough demands to keep our rivals (Cle, Cincy) in place... With the addition of Hou due to the new Superdome... Dan Rooney and Al Davis argued over the new division, and Vince Lombardi threw Davis against the wall for making it difficult.

....Now, maybe I did know alot of this kind of stuff, but I forgot... But I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the history of our team.... I'm only up to the point where they hired Chuck Noll (they actually were looking at Joe Paterno initially...), so I haven't gotten to the "modern" stuff yet... It's truly a good read. ... It may not change your opinion of his business practices if you don't like them, but it will definitely give you an appreciation of the history of this team.

Steeler store at:

[url="http://news.steelers.com/catalog/product/79407/"]http://news.steelers.com/catalog/product/79407/[/url]

Thanks for the info, NKy. :Cheers

[quote=SteelerSal1]Thanks for the info, NKy. :Cheers[/quote]

You're quite welcome.... I am actually loving reading this book. As I said, it's one of the better ones I've read.... Great stories, and great history.... :wink:

- Did you know that Art Sr. was the first owner to recognize the players' union? ... The Commissioner had earlier stated to the media and government that the owners would do so, but they didn't want to.... Art Sr. expressed the opinion that if it wasn't done, the commissioner would look like a weak figurehead to all the country, so he publically recognized the union as the first team owner to do so, and the rest of the owners followed suit......

....The book is absolutely a great read!.....

Thanks for calling it out...got mine on order now...I love reading books like this.

[quote=costanza2k1]Thanks for calling it out...got mine on order now...I love reading books like this.[/quote]

...It's worth it, and you won't be disappointed.... I enjoyed reading [i]Tales from behind the Steel Curtain: The best stories of the '79 Steelers[/i] by Jim Wexell. And [i]The Pittsburgh Steelers: The official team history[/i] by Abby Mendelson. .... But this one is just so much better.... Told as an autobiography by Dan Rooney. .... More in-depth stories than I've read before.... Too many folks don't read books anymore, but I love it.... Especially when doing so by the pool in Los Angeles while the Miss Teen USA contestants are running around getting sun!.....
:twisted: :Boobs

[quote=NKySteeler][quote=costanza2k1]Thanks for calling it out...got mine on order now...I love reading books like this.[/quote]

...It's worth it, and you won't be disappointed.... I enjoyed reading [i]Tales from behind the Steel Curtain: The best stories of the '79 Steelers[/i] by Jim Wexell. And [i]The Pittsburgh Steelers: The official team history[/i] by Abby Mendelson. .... But this one is just so much better.... Told as an autobiography by Dan Rooney. .... More in-depth stories than I've read before.... Too many folks don't read books anymore, but I love it.... Especially when doing so by the pool in Los Angeles while the Miss Teen USA contestants are running around getting sun!.....
:twisted: :Boobs[/quote]

Hmmm....which would hold my attention more...

[img]http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/2081/79419zj4.jpg[/img] [size=7]OR[/size] [img]http://www.billingsgazette.net/content/articles/2006/08/19/news/local/50-luxury.jpg[/img] [size=7]?[/size]

I love the Steelers as much as anyone, but I think I'd put down the book in this case. :twisted:

I had a run-in with Miss Teen USA contestants once upon a time. I was probably a freshman or sophomore in college (so I wasn't yet officially considered a dirty old man to be talking to these young girls at this point), and a buddy and I went to NYC. We were waiting for a table at the Harley Davidson theme restaurant (not sure if that is even still there today) when all 50 of them came into the restaurant at once. When we found Miss Teen PA (certainly one of the best of the bunch, at least for that particular year), we were talking to her, and it turned out that she went to cheerleading camp with my buddy's sister that past summer. Just when the ice was broken and the girls started getting a little more relaxed hanging out with us in the lobby, the overprotective chaperones swooped in an forbade them from talking to any random folks who came in off the mean New York streets. Oh well. :evil:

[b]Ruthless[/b], you have underestimated the power that is NKy.... Both young women and chaperones alike were stunned by my presence.....

.... Care to buy a bridge I have for sale?......... :lol:

... No sh[i]i[/i]t they were there, but strangely enough, they wanted nothing to do with me!... Go figure!...... :lol:

... Why do you think I had time to read this book?........... :?