July 8, 1933
Pittsburgh Steelers Founding Date
A legacy has to start somewhere, and for the Pittsburgh Steelers that legacy began on July 8, 1933, when the franchise was founded.
Art Rooney Sr., known as 'The Chief,' to his players, coaches, staff and fans, had the team's application for a National Football League franchise granted a few months prior on May 19, and the Pittsburgh Professional Football Club, Inc. joined the NFL in exchange for a fee of $2,500.
It wasn't until July 8 that it all became official when Rooney, one of the great pioneers of the sports world, brought the NFL to his beloved Pittsburgh.
At the time the Steelers joined the Eastern Division and were one of only 10 teams in the NFL.
Little did Rooney know back in 1933, or during the first 40 years of the franchise, that the Steelers would one day be among the NFL elite. The Steelers are tied for the lead in the NFL with six Super Bowl titles and boost 24 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Below is an excerpt from the NFL Newsletter written by then league President Joe Carr making the announcement to the other teams in the NFL of the addition of a team in Pittsburgh.
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"The application of the Pittsburgh Professional Football Club Inc., accompanied by a check for Twenty-Five Hundred ($2,500.00) Dollars is on file in the office of the President. I have already received the unanimous approval of the Executive Committee for this application that will come before the July meeting for ratification by the entire membership.
"The Pittsburgh group is headed by Mr. Arthur Rooney, 915 Western Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., who has had much experience in the promotion of sporting and athletic events. The club appears to be well financed. The sporting editors of all the Pittsburgh papers are very enthusiastic about this group as well as the outlook for a National League Franchise in that city. They propose to play some early games at night and after it is permissible, under the new Pennsylvania law, to play on Sunday. Games will be played at Forbes Field, home of the Pittsburgh National League Baseball Club."_