Ex-Steelers front-office head Art Rooney Jr., coach Buddy Parker semifinalists for Hall of Fame
Over a 21-year tenure as Pittsburgh Steelers personnel director, Art Rooney Jr. presided over the acquisition of 10 Hall of Fame players.
On Thursday, he took the first step toward joining them with a bust in Canton, Ohio.
Rooney Jr. was announced Friday as a semifinalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2023 class. The son of Steelers founder Art Rooney, Rooney Jr. headed the organization’s football operations from 1965-86, a span that saw them transform from NFL bottom-feeder into model franchise. With input from coach Chuck Noll and the scouting staff, Rooney Jr. acquired 20 players who would be part of four Super Bowl-winning Steelers teams in the 1970s.
Rooney Jr., who still holds a title of vice president with the Steelers, was inducted into the team’s Hall of Honor in 2018.
Though their job titles were different, Rooney Jr. took over primary player-acquisition duties for the Steelers from Buddy Parker, the team’s coach from 1957-64. Parker also was named one the 54 individuals named Hall of Fame semifinalists Thursday.
Rooney Jr. and Parker were in the coach/contributor category, where roughly half of the 54 semifinalists named Thursday were designated. “Seniors” comprised the other half (25 were intended to be named to each list, but ties were included).
Parker went 51-47-6 as Steelers coach but also had stints with the Chicago Cardinals and Detroit Lions to have a 104-75-9 overall record.
Another semifinalist with local ties is longtime former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, an alumnus of Fort Cherry High School and Pitt. Schottenheimer won 200 games over 21 seasons as coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers.
The Hall of Fame’s seniors and coach/contributor committees will whittle down their lists to 12 finalists each by July 27. The following month, three seniors and one coach/contributor will be submitted for final formal consideration for induction into the Hall.
Super Bowl-winning coaches Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren are among the other prominent names on the semifinalists list.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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