*eeeaaaahh* wrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Steelers
My husband is 1 of those rabid (geez is it RIDICULOUSLY true) fans, and we even visited the 75-year Steeler celebration exhibit in the HOF last year.
I went to the Steelers and Eagles web sites to check it out. My source is an NFL book, The First Fifty Years, which includes a complete history of all franchises up until 1969. In that book, it states that the Pirates and Eagles started in 1933, and in 1940 the Pirates moved to Philadelphia and the Eagles moved to Pittsburgh, becoming the Steelers. The official Steelers media guide completely scrubs this, leading one to believe that Rooney started the Pirates and they became the Steelers. On the Eagles web site, a different story is given. This is the Eagles site history:
1940At the least, the claim on Wikipedia that ownership of the Steelers has ALWAYS been with the Rooney family is incorrect, as the Eagles (official NFL site) clearly states that Rooney sold the Steelers. The Steelers, of course, simply ignore this, as part of their claim to fame is that the Steelers have always been in the Rooney family. The Eagles site is unclear on whether the franchises moved cities or whether just the owners did, but as I said, an Official NFL history from the NFL sitting next to me right now says the franchises moved cities, not just the owners.
[EAGLES]Home playing site switches from Municipal Stadium to Shibe Park (later known as Connie Mack Stadium). Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney buys half interest in the Eagles after selling the Steelers franchise to Alexis Thompson of New York, a 30-year old heir to a six million fortune in steel stocks.
1941
Bell and Rooney swap franchises with Thompson, Rooney returning to Pittsburgh and Thompson taking over the Eagles. Bert Bell joins Rooney as a full-time partner in Pittsburgh. Thompson hires Earl (Greasy) Neale as head coach of the Eagles.
1943
Eagles merge with Pittsburgh Steelers to form the "Steagles" due to manpower shortage during World War II. Merger dissolved at end of season.