Football History

A semi-pro gridiron squad based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team was founded by Art Rooney, who is best known for being the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League.

Hope Harvey Predecessor

After a few years of playing as the Hope-Harvey eleven which included Art Rooney and his brothers on the roster, the team was sponsored by "Loeffler's Electronic Store", who renamed the team after one of its best-selling products, the Majestic Radio. Hence the team became known as the Majestic Radios. The team's affiliation with Loeffler's ended prior to the team's 1931 season. It was then they became the J.P. Rooneys, paying tribute to the candidacy of James Rooney, brother of Art, who was grinning for political office.

Art Rooney Sr., the iconic founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers, didn't build a championship team overnight. His journey began with the Majestic Radios Football Team, a semi-professional squad that served as a crucial stepping stone to his NFL aspirations. This essay explores the connection between these early days and the eventual rise of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Early Hustle: Learning the Game from the Ground Up

The Majestic Radios, founded in the early 1920s, were more than just a team for Art Rooney. They were his classroom. Here, he wore several hats: player, coach, and even recruiter, scouring local neighborhoods and colleges for talent. This hands-on experience laid the groundwork for his future success. He learned the intricacies of the game, the importance of scouting and team building, and the financial realities of running a football organization.

A Winning Start and the Value of Community

The Majestic Radios enjoyed considerable success. This early taste of victory instilled in Rooney a hunger for sustained success. He also understood the importance of community support. The enthusiastic crowds drawn to their games at Exposition Park foreshadowed the passionate Steelers fanbase that would develop later.

The story of Art Rooney Sr. is synonymous with the origin and early history of the franchise he founded, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steeler's origin story is a reflection of Rooney's life, as he put so much of who he was into the franchise that started off named after the local MLB team the Pirates.

The Chief made some bad decisions, poor choices and even had a little bit of luck along the way but patiently waited for four decades to finally see the fruits of his labor and love, the Steelers reach the pinnacle of the NFL.

The Hope Harvey Football Club was the first sports team managed by legendary Art J. Rooney. This team is reportedly the only time that all of the Rooney brothers, Dan, Art, Jim, and Vince played together on a single unit. This squad was one of the best-known sandlot football clubs of the 1920s.

The team was known, in its day, as one of the toughest teams to defeat in Pittsburgh. The Hope Harvey Football Club was coached and managed by Art J. Rooney as he was the team's quarterback alongside his younger brothers, Dan and Jim Rooney. The younger Rooney boys, Vince, served as a ball boy.

This marks the beginning of Art J. Rooney's long-standing career in football. Before football, Art was a star baseball player and boxer. His appearance on the Hope Harvey Club made him one of the biggest stars in sandlot football, as the Hope Harvey era stands as the only period when he managed, coached, and played on a team.
The team name and its origins are fascinating. The team's center of operation and locker room was housed in Pittsburgh's Hope Fire House, in the heart of the Northside. A local physician Dr. Harvey,, was the sponsor and unofficial team doctor who would 'patch" the fellas up after their hard-fought contests. The team's uniforms were handmade by the players or members of their families as each one was sewn uniquely.

A semi-professional team run by Art Rooney Sr in 1931. The team started as the Hope-Harveys, and later after gaining sponsorship, turned into the Majestic Radios of Loeffler's Electronic Store. The team's affiliation with Loeffler's ended prior to the team's 1931 season. When James decided to run for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Art renamed the team the "J.P. Rooneys" as a way to promote his brother's campaign. James Rooney would go on to win the election easily.
In 1933 Art Rooney would found the Pittsburgh Pirates NFL franchise and in 1940 rename them the Steelers.

A great website dedicated to Steelers history is found that covers the Art Rooney connection to Pittsburgh sports and football long before the NFL franchise was born.

From the Hope Harvey team, the squad that bore is politician brothers moniker Art Rooney Sr was a football man through in thorough. The connections to the sport of boxing and a bit of betting on the ponies were all part of the story.

A Pittsburgh news article on the history of the Hope harvey team of Art Rooney