Why did the Steelers change their name?

Located in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Steelers play professional American football. The Steelers are a member team of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division of the National Football League.

The Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC and the seventh-oldest franchise in the NFL. They were founded in 1933. The Steelers of the post-merger (modern) era are among the most successful NFL franchises, especially during their dynasty in the 1970s.

Pittsburgh steelers

The baseball team-inspired “Pirates” was Pittsburgh’s initial nickname. The only national sport that mattered at the time in the United States was Major League Baseball. It was seen as an integral part of daily life and was genuinely the “National Pastime.”



Using the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the neighborhood newspaper, a promotion involving a “name-the-team” competition got underway.

There were several suggestions made, but in the end, Rooney settled on the name “Steelers,” which was also the appellation of a nearby high school. Numerous people selected the name Steelers, and Margaret O’Donnell was the lucky winner.

This contrasts with their status as perennial also-rans in the NFL before to merger, where they were the oldest team never to have won a league championship.

The franchise has played in and hosted more conference championship games than any other team in the NFL, and it is tied with the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl victories with six.