The Pittsburgh Steelers have announced the patch the team will wear all season to honor Dan Rooney, who passed away during the offseason.
The patch, shaped in an Irish clover, contains his initials: Daniel Milton Rooney. Rooney passed away on April 13th at the age of 84.
This is the first year the Steelers will be without Rooney. He was born in 1932, a little less than one year before his father founded the team – then the Pittsburgh Pirates – to start playing in the NFL in 1933.
While The Chief was the team’s founder, it was Dan Rooney who helped bring change, and ultimately success, to the franchise. He played a big role in hiring Chuck Noll, a decision that would shape the franchise forever. He also convinced Bill Nunn to work as a scout for the team, opening them up to HBCUs previously ignored. The list of players they drafted/signed from there is almost too long to count.
The team wore a patch for Art Rooney when he passed away in 1988. Here’s a picture of it. You can expect the size and placement for Dan Rooney to be similar.
