Some sad news to pass along today. Patrick Rooney Sr., brother of the late Dan Rooney, died on Sunday. He was 84. An obituary in the Palm Beach Post noted his Oct. 29 death. He was also the son of The Chief, Art Rooney Sr., who founded the Steelers’ franchise in 1933.
Patrick Rooney held a 16-percent share in the franchise until 2009, when the NFL compelled members of the Rooney family to share their ownership stakes in the team due it conflicting with their involvement in racetracks and gambling. At the time, Patrick Rooney said the decision wasn’t money-driven.
“Ultimately, it wasn’t about the money. It was planning for my family. The money isn’t for me,” he told the Tribune-Review at the time.
The move meant the Steelers wouldn’t be almost fully controlled by the family for the first time in history. To date, the team has several minority owners who aren’t blood-related. But many of them have ties to the city, including billionaire movie mogul Thomas Tull and John Stallworth. Tull has founded businesses in Pittsburgh while Stallworth was a Super Bowl-winning wide receiver for the team and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
UPDATE (3:45 PM): The team has issued the following statement reacting to Rooney’s death.
Dan Rooney passed away in April 2017, also at the age of 84. He ran the Steelers for decades and helped turn them into one of the NFL’s most successful and consistent franchises. He later became the United States Ambassador to Ireland, the first to visit all 32 of the country’s counties.
Taking to Twitter a short time ago, former Steelers QB Michael Vick shared this tweet, offering condolences to the Rooney family. Vick briefly served as the team’s quarterback in 2015, his final season in the league.
According to Patrick Rooney’s obituary, donations can be made to Tunnels to Towers Foundation in lieu of flowers.
