Back to the Pittsburgh Steelers Newsfeed

Steelers History: Team Sold to New York Millionaire

We all love our team, but what if the Steelers were not playing in Pittsburgh? What if they moved to Philadelphia? Would it stretch your loyalty?

Eighty years ago, the dastardly deed took place.

In the first eight years of the Pittsburgh pro football franchise, their fans never witnessed a winning season. They saw one false dawn in 1936 when the team went 6-3, only to stumble and finish 6-6.

In 1940, Art Rooney changed the name of the franchise and the Pirates became the Steelers. The change brought no miracle turnaround in the team’s fortunes, they finished their first season as the Steelers at 2-7-2.