It all began on
July 18, 1933. On that day, Joe Carr, the first Commissioner of the
National Football League, granted a franchise to Arthur J. Rooney
of Pittsburgh. At
the time, the league was suffering tremendous growing pains.
It began in Canton,
Ohio, in 1920 and, between then and 1933, many communities were granted
franchises, operated briefly, faltered or failed, or moved on to metropolitan
areas. The
Chicago Bears life began as the Decatur (Illinois) Staleys.
Rooney, the oldest
of a family of six boys and two girls, was only 32 years old when
he became president of the Pittsburgh team. His athletic background,
like that of his brothers, was rich and varied.
He was such a
good football player that Knute Rockne tried to persuade him to come
to Notre Dame. He signed a baseball contract with the Boston Red Sox
but a subsequent lame arm ended that hope. He was also a top amateur
boxer.
The new franchise
was named the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jap Douds, who had been an All-America
player for Washington-Jefferson College, was named head coach. Rooney
entered the league in what might be termed the "decade of struggle."
The "Big Four"
- the Chicago Bears, the New York Giants, the Green Bay Packers and
the Washington Redskins - dominated the play and seemingly won all
the championships.
Luby DiMeolo succeeded
Jap Douds as head coach and he immediately gave way to Joe Bach, one
of Notre Dame's seven mules. Under Bach, the team began to make some
headway but after two seasons he decided to return to college coaching.
I
n 1936, college
coaching was a more prestigious occupation. Even though these years
were not a promotional dream, Rooney signed Byron (Whizzer) White,
a nationally known star from Colorado. White played only one year
with the team (1938) and then went to England as a Rhodes Scholar.
Although White
failed to lift the team into contention, his signing was significant.
Prior to this, only a limited number of college stars joined the pros.
White pioneered and thereafter almost every major college player entered
the National Football League.
In 1940, the struggle
for survival became more intense. World War II began. Unfortunately,
the best Pittsburgh team since 1933 - the 1942 team - was decimated
by the military draft.
A young Virginian,
Bill Dudley was the inspirational and motivational force but before
the break through could be completed, Dudley was piloting B-17's in
the Pacific.
Twice during the
war years, Pittsburgh merged: first with the Philadelphia Eagles and
then the Chicago Cardinals in order to collect enough players to stay
in operation.
It was at this
time -1941, to be exact - the team changed its name from the Pirates
to the Steelers.
In the immediate
post-war era, the Steelers signed Jock Sutherland as head coach. He
had a long and successful reign as head coach at the University of
Pittsburgh.
Spectacular results
almost were immediate. In
his second season, Sutherland led his team into a divisional playoff
with the Philadelphia Eagles but lost. After the season ended, the
famous doctor headed south on a scouting trip.
While on this
trip, he was stricken ill and returned to Pittsburgh where, shortly
thereafter, he died of a malignant brain tumor. It
was a damaging loss for the Steelers, Pittsburgh and for all of football.
It also marked the passing of an era.
Sutherland's single
wing offense was phased out of pro football a few years later. Then
the Steelers joined the establishment and adopted the T-formation.
The fifties and
early sixties provided exciting football with Bach returning for a
second stint as head coach. He
was followed by Walt Kiesling and the colorful Buddy Parker.
Parker's 1963
team needed a victory in the final game against the New York Giants
to give the Steelers their first Eastern Division title, but the bid
fell short in Yankee Stadium.
The list is long
of players who were standouts during this period. Jimmy Finks and
Bobby Layne, Elbie Nickel and Buddy Dial, Ernie Stautner and "Big
Daddy" Lipscomb, Jack Butler and Clendon Thomas all thrilled loyal
Tri-State fans.
In 1967 the NFL
and the rival American Football League entered into a merger agreement.
Next season the National Football League will consist of 26 teams
divided into two conferences, American and National. The
Steelers, along with Cleveland and Baltimore, will join the 10 present
AFL teams to form the American Conference.
Seven Steeler
personalities have been elected to the Professional Football Hall
of Fame. Rooney and Bell were among the first enshrined.
Since then they
have been joined by John "Blood" McNally, Cal Hubbard, Kies- ling,
Dudley, Stautner, Layne and Marion Motley.
Chuck Noll, a
young man of serious mien, entered the Steeler picture at this period.
Prior to becoming a head coach, he played with the Cleveland Browns
(1953-1959), spent six years as an assistant to Sid Gillman in San
Diego and three years as an assistant to Don Shula in Baltimore. As
he takes the reins as the fourteenth head coach of the Steelers, Pittsburgh
looks ahead to a change of fortune, a new stadium, a new conference
and a new beginning.
CHUCK NOLL
HEAD COACH: The Steeler position is Noll's first crack at head
coaching and he brings with him a long string of successes, both as
a player and a coach. He
retired from the Cleveland Browns as a player at the tender age of
27 to enter coaching.
Although the opportunity
that induced him to quit never materialized, he accepted a position
on Sid Gillman's staff with the Los Angeles Chargers, now the San
Diego Chargers, who were preparing for their initial AFL season. In
six years there as chief defensive coach, the Chargers won five conference
titles.
Chuck moved on
to Baltimore in 1966 as defensive backfield coach under Don Shula.
While he was there, the Colts boasted one of the league's best defenses
and won one NFL championship.
PLAYING CAREER:
A 21st draft choice in 1953, Noll played a key role on two NFL championship
teams and four Eastern Conference titles in his seven seasons with
the Cleveland Browns.
At first, one
of Paul Brown's "messenger" guards, Chuck later moved to defense as
a linebacker. As a high school player in Cleveland, Noll displayed
the same versatility.
Starting as a
running back, he switched to tackle and became an All-State performer,
earning a scholarship to the University of Dayton. He captained the
Flyers and was an All-Ohio selection.
PERSONAL:
Chuck was born in Cleveland, Ohio on January 5, 1932. His wife, Marianne,
is a native of Portsmouth, Ohio. They have a son, Chris who is 11.
The Nolls live in Upper St. Clair.