The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 21 nominees who advanced for the Class of 2026 in the Contributor category, and Art Rooney Jr. is on the list.
Rooney, who is a member of the Steelers Hall of Honor, was the team's Personnel Director from 1965-86.
He worked with Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll, Rooney Jr. and the Steelers scouting department drafted, or signed as rookie free agents, 10 future Hall of Famers from 1969-74, and the team would go on to win four Super Bowl championships during the 1970s. He is currently a vice-president with the team.
From the Hall of Fame:
Each Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee member will cast an additional ballot later this month to reduce the list further – this time to nine (9) Semifinalists. Results will be announced in early November. Later in the month, they will meet virtually and through a sequence of reduction votes will select one (1) Finalist for the Class of 2026. Comprising the committee are nine individuals – eight who also are members of the full Selection Committee and one other football historian who holds voting rights for this subcommittee only.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2026, which can be composed of a minimum of four individuals to as many as eight, will be enshrined next August in Canton.
