Allegheny City

Daniel Milton Rooney was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 20, 1932. In 1933, his father Art Rooney, a boxing promoter, paid $2,500 for the Steelers, who were then named the Pirates. When Dan Rooney was 9 years old he became the Steelers' water boy. He received a degree in accounting from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and began handling the team's logistics and negotiating contracts. He eventually held nearly every job in the team's front office before becoming chairman.

During his nearly eight decades with the team, the Steelers won six Super Bowl titles. He recruited the league's first black executive and pushed for the adoption of the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for a head coach or general manager opening. The rule has since been expanded to include the consideration of women for front-office positions. He took over the Steelers after his father died in 1988. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. Three years later, he handed the job of club president to his son. He wrote a memoir, Dan Rooney: My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL, in 2007. President Barack Obama appointed him ambassador to the Republic of Ireland. He served from July 2009 to December 2012. He died on April 13, 2017 at the age of 84.

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