Steelers Owner Art Rooney Dies

PITTSBURGH — Art Rooney Sr., who bought the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1932 for $2,500 in race-track winnings and turned the team into a National Football League powerhouse in the 1970s, died today. He was 87.

Rooney died in his sleep at 7:45 a.m. with his family at his bedside, said Dr. Theodore Gelet, Rooney’s personal physician. Rooney was admitted to Mercy Hospital with a stroke Aug. 17 after becoming dizzy at the team’s offices at Three Rivers Stadium. He had been in a coma since Monday. Rooney’s Steelers struggled for 40 years until the 1970s, when coach Chuck Noll and quarterback Terry Bradshaw led the team to dominance in the NFL, becoming the only club to win four Super Bowl games.