For much of their early tenure as a professional football franchise, the Pittsburgh Steelers were not a very good team. In fact, they were quite bad. Even after Chuck Noll took over in 1969, the Steelers went 1-13. But things turned around with a few good drafts, adding key pieces like Mean Joe Greene, Franco Harris, and Gerry “Moon” Mullins, among others. During an interview with Rob King of Steelers.com, Mullins talked about Pittsburgh’s history of futility and why it was the highlight of his career to see Art Rooney Sr. hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
“I know that they had 40 years of mediocrity, and I used to think about Art Rooney Sr. He had such a great attitude. All those years of frustration, every day he showed up in the locker room, he always had a positive attitude, win or lose. I just couldn’t imagine being that optimistic, and then when we finally won a Super Bowl, I think the highlight of my career was seeing him take that trophy. His eyes were all fogged up, his big coke glasses, and I’m thinking, finally, he reached the top of the mountain after all those years of frustration.”
Rooney started the Steelers franchise, then known as the Pirates, in 1933, and Pittsburgh’s first Super Bowl victory wasn’t until 1975, and they didn’t have any NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl existing. From 1933 until 1972, the Steelers had just seven winning seasons in team history, so it’s pretty remarkable that Rooney was able to keep his optimism and a positive attitude while owning a franchise for almost 40 years that just couldn’t win.
But his decision to hire Noll paid off in a big way. With the Steelers finally hitting on their draft picks, they finally became a contender, making the AFC Championship game in 1972 on the backs of the Immaculate Reception, and the Steelers made the playoffs every year from 1972-79, winning four Super Bowls along the way. Mullins was an underrated part of those teams as a guard/tackle who played in 124 games from ’71-’79 and was inducted into the Steelers’ Ring Of Honor in 2023.
I’m sure it was a great feeling for everyone on Pittsburgh’s team, not just Mullins, to see Rooney finally reach the mountaintop after struggling for over 40 years to find that level of success. He obviously then went on to oversee three more Super Bowl victories throughout the ’70s, but Mullins said that the first win was “really special.”
Rooney was one of the best owners in professional sports history, and his legacy lives on through his family. His grandson, Art Rooney II, currently owns the team. He’s looking to find some success at the same level as his grandfather, and hopefully, the Steelers can get another Lombardi soon.
