Steelers Announce News of John Rooney's Death; 1 of 5 of Art Rooney's Sons

John Rooney, son of Steelers founder Art "The Cheif" Rooney Sr., passed away on Tuesday. The New York Giants announced the news via Twitter. John's father, The Chief, used to gamble on horses and he won a lot of money. He named his son Tim after Giants owner Tim Mara. Tim and John had a daughter named Kathleen that later married Chris Mara, senior vice president of player personnel for the Giants.

John Rooney was one of five sons of Art Rooney Sr. He was the brother of former Steelers chairman Daniel M. Rooney. John owned 16% of the team until 2008 when the Rooney family decided to go public and reorganized the ownership structure. Four of John's brothers sold all or part of their stakes in the Steelers. Patrick and Timothy sold their entire share to give Dan and his son Art II a 30% controlling interest in team.

John Rooney died. He was a twin and taught middle school English. His wife Joanne and they had six children. The news broke as the city of Pittsburgh was honoring a fallen hero. Franco Harris died a week before. Pittsburgh had planned to honor him at their game on Christmas Eve. However, the weather was too cold and the celebration was cancelled.

Art Rooney's brother, John, died. Art's son, Dan, hopes Dan lives 20 more years to enjoy his brothers.