The Pittsburgh Steelers are extremely well-represented at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and there are still several deserving candidates who are waiting to get in. There are multiple categories for the Hall of Fame, including seniors, modern-era players, and contributors. Today, the Pro Football Hall of Fame narrowed down a list of semifinalists in the contributor category to nine names and Art Rooney Jr. made the cut.
Rooney, obviously a member of the esteemed Rooney family that has owned the Steelers franchise since its inception in 1933, has been actively employed by the organization since 1961. He no longer works on the football operations side of things, but he now holds a prominent role on the business side of things as the vice president with a spot on the board of directors. He was active on the football operations side of things from 1964-86 in the scouting department as the personnel director, which included some of the best draft classes of all time and four Super Bowl championships.
Rooney is 88 years old. He’s spent 63 years and counting—the majority of his life—working for one of the most historic franchises in football.
The list initially started with 47 names. It was narrowed to 25 candidates a couple weeks ago. The panelists will meet again on Nov. 12 to choose just one candidate from this list to be elected to the 2025 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
You can read an interview with Art Rooney Jr., conducted by Steelers Depot’s own Scott Brown, where he understands that Steelers fatigue may be hindering his path to Canton.
“They tell me, ‘There’s too many Rooneys.’ You try to laugh about it, but it is sort of a kick in the shins,” Rooney told Brown.
Along with Rooney, K.S. “Bud” Adams, Ralph Hay, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Art Modell, Seymour Siwoff, Doug Williams, and John Wooten are up for consideration as semifinalists.
