It’s not hyperbole to call Art Rooney Sr. the most beloved sports figure in Pittsburgh history. Author Roy Blount Jr. told me last month that “He managed to acquire a saintliness,” and he would know. For his 1974 book About Three Bricks Sky of a Load, Blount took a road trip with The Chief to see if the man truly lived up to his mythology. The result was a resounding ‘yes.’
As the figurehead behind one of the NFL’s greatest dynasties, it’s a no-brainer that Rooney would be included in the Hall of Fame.