This contributed to them winning four Super Bowls in six years, and Rooney has in total been a member of six league championship teams.

[3] He attended North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, gaining a spot on the varsity football team in 1951 as a tackle.

[2][3][6][7] Following his graduation, he joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve as a private and also acted in several theater stage productions.

[13][14] Previously, the Steelers' NFL Draft strategy under Buddy Parker was to trade away most of their picks for veteran players.

[13] Teaming up with head coach Chuck Noll in 1969, Rooney helped produce what Pro Football Hall of Fame voter Vito Stellino described as "the best drafting run in NFL history" over a span of six years.

[16] During this time, Pittsburgh selected nine players who would go on to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and signed an additional one (Donnie Shell) as an undrafted free agent.

[16] The picks of Hall of Famers Joe Greene in 1969, Mel Blount and Terry Bradshaw in 1970, Jack Ham in 1971, Franco Harris in 1972 and Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Mike Webster and Jack Lambert in 1974 proved crucial in the success of the team's success in the decade, with them winning Super Bowls IX, X, XIII and XIV in a six-year span.

[3] In 2008, he wrote a book with Roy McHugh, called Ruanaidh (the Gaelic spelling of Rooney), describing the history of his family.