We’ve got a running commentary going on this. Art Rooney started a team called the Pirates, sold it and bought half interest in the Eagles. Swapped with the guy he sold the Pirates to and returned to Pittsburgh. I’ve got one source that says the Pirates moved to Philadelphia in the swap and the Eagles moved to Pittsburgh and became the Steelers, and another that is unclear on whether the franchises actually moved, or if the owners just swapped franchises.
I've got one source that says the Jews will be the destruction of us all.
No, you both are wrong. The Steelers used to be the Indianapolis Colts until owner Art Model moved the team to Pittsburgh and they were renamed the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969. It was there that Joe Montana and the Pittburgh Steelers won the first AFL-NFL championship game against Bart Star and the Dallas Cowboys. The half time show featured B.B. King, who played his number one hit, ‘Purple Haze’.
(Hat tip to the Greg Gutfeld Research Library for the information)
No, the Pirates were ALREADY called the Steelers for the ‘40 season. AFTER the season the newly-named Steelers were sold. So the Pirates WERE changed to Steelers - then to “Ironmen”, then Eagles.
No. There was a point when Art Rooney was going broke and thought he would have to drop the franchise. His friend, Bert Bell, owner of the Eagles and later NFL Comissioner, bought some of the team just to keep it going. During WWII when neither the Steelers or the Eagles could get enough players to field a team, they fielded a joint squad for one season and called themselves The Steagles. The next year, the Steelers and Cards did the same thing and called themselves The Pitt-Cards.
But it has been one franchise with Art Rooney as the majority owner since 1933 that was first called The Pirates and then The Steelers. Here's another history.