Break out the cake and candles to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Today is their 91st birthday. While the team didn’t play their first game until September, 1933, Art Rooney, “The Chief,” officially bought the franchise on July 8, 1933.
The price for an NFL franchise back then? A cool $2,500, or just over $79,000 in today’s money. No small sum considering the country was in the midst of The Great Depression. Not to mention professional football wasn’t anything like what it is today. Not only was it less popular than baseball, it was looked down upon compared to the “purity” of amateur college football.