He'll be Mr. Rooney forever.
The human. The benefactor. The ambassador. The football man. The Pittsburgher. The embodiment of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the NFL's greatest franchise that, to this day, represents our face to the rest of the world.
Daniel M. Rooney, born on the North Side in 1932, died Thursday in his beloved hometown. And with him, he took a piece of all of us. From the world leaders who sought his wisdom to the wide-eyed on the sideline at Saint Vincent. From the billionaire fellow owners in his league to any old Joe he'd pass while walking down the hill from his home to work at Three Rivers Stadium, then Heinz Field. From his players, who were greeted after every game with a handshake, right up until the very last one in Foxborough, to Glen the elevator guy.
To everyone he touched, he was and always will be, simply, quaintly, Mr. Rooney.
I'll respectfully leave the reporting and eulogizing to those who were blessed to know the man far better. Our Mark Kaboly offers his news here and will share some of his views later. We also have a collection of statements made by people all over the world, large and small in scope, as well as social media recognition on this sad day when the Steelers, eloquently, turned their website into a single, static page commemorating Mr. Rooney:
Art Rooney II, Mean Joe Greene and Dan Rooney at Heinz Field in 2014. - AP
Steelers
Kovacevic: A piece of Pittsburgh, our own Mr. Rooney, has passed
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Jonas Salk,
Fred Rogers,
Chuck Noll
Art Rooney Sr
Art Rooney II
Heinz Field Thursday night. - DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
The Art Rooney Sr. statue, with a bouquet at his foot. - DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
Another statue. Another civic treasure. Another good neighbor. - DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
Bob Labriola, Missi Matthews, Teresa Varley, Mike Prisuta, Burt Lauten, Ryan Scarpino
Dom Rinelli
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