After making the list of nine semifinalists, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Art Rooney Jr. has been eliminated in his bid to be part of the 2025 Hall of Fame Class. Announced Tuesday, Ralph Hay was the one contributor chosen as finalist for the Hall of Fame.
Rooney Jr., who served as the Steelers’ player personnel director from 1964-1986 and helped build the ’70s dynasty, made the Hall’s previous cuts down to a list of nine. But only one contributor is nominated as finalist every year and he wasn’t the committee’s selection.
While men like Bill Nunn, Art Rooney Sr., Dan Rooney, and Chuck Noll deserve immense credit for turning the Steelers into four-time Super Bowl champions in the 1970s, Art Rooney Jr. also played a key role. He was part of the talent evaluation department as Pittsburgh drafted and developed nearly every key piece to the franchise’s turnaround. QB Terry Bradshaw, WRs Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, RB Franco Harris, C Mike Webster, DL Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, and Dwight White, LBs Jack Lambert and Jack Ham, CB Mel Blount, and many others were draft picks that shaped the future of the team.
Today, Rooney is listed as the team’s vice president. He was nominated on the Hall’s initial list of 47 names and survived multiple cuts before today. Now, he’ll try again in 2026.
Instead of Rooney, the committee chose Ralph Hay. He helped found and organize the National Football League in 1920. It was his Hupmobile car dealership where the meeting that would officially form the league took place. Hay also owned the Canton Bulldogs from 1918-1922. While not a well-known name like others on the contributors list, like New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Hay was critical to the foundation of the league. His odds of being selected for the Hall by the committee during final voting are high.
In addition to him, former Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Holmgren along with former players WR Sterling Sharpe, LB Maxie Baughan, and OT Jim Tyrer are finalists in their respective categories.
For the Hall’s modern era list, WR Hines Ward and LB James Harrison are semifinalists for Canton. Fifteen finalists will be announced later this month. The official Hall of Fame class will be announced during Super Bowl weekend in February.
