Apologies for the length
https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2020/06/19/pittsburgh-steelers-standard-diversity-nfl/
Rooney also brought in Duquesne tackle Ray Kemp, who was an original member of the Pirates when they entered the NFL in 1933. He was the sole Black player on the team and one of only two Black players in the league.
No other African American would play in the league again until 1946. In January 1952, fullback Jack Spinks (11th round) and halfback Bill Robinson (25th round) became the first Black players to be drafted by the Steelers.
In 1957, Perry, a wide receiver, was hired and became the first Black coach in modern NFL history.
Recognizing the importance of integrating Black players on his team, Rooney hired Bill Nunn, the NFL’s second Black scout.
Nunn, a sports editor at The Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American newspaper, had his finger on the pulse of football programs at historically Black colleges. Rooney found exceptional value in the knowledge Nunn could bring to the Steelers and hired him as a part-time scout in 1967. He became a full-time employee in 1969. By 1970, he was promoted to assistant director of player personnel.
Over the next decade, Nunn discovered a bevy of players from Black colleges and universities who went on to help the Steelers win four Super Bowls. Among them were cornerback Mel Blount (Southern), defensive end L.C. Greenwood (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), defensive tackle Ernie Holmes (Texas Southern), defensive back Donnie Shell (South Carolina State), wide receiver John Stallworth (Alabama A&M), and defensive end Dwight White (East Texas State).
Nunn also was responsible for the Steelers drafting their first Black quarterback. Joe Gilliam was drafted in the 11th round of the 1972 draft.
...and Nunn proudly stands in the Hall of Fame with 6 Super Bowl rings:
https://www.profootballhof.com/players/bill-nunn/
The Steelers’ fortunes would change dramatically in the 1970s, and a key figure in the transformation from perennial losers to four-time Super Bowl champions in a six-season span was Bill Nunn, a scout and later the assistant director of player personnel for the team from 1968 to 2013.
A look at the team photo of the 1974 Steelers, winners of Super Bowl IX, illustrates Nunn’s influence. In the picture are 11 players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including three future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Mel Blount, Donnie Shell and John Stallworth. Nunn was integral in the Steelers finding talented players from HBCUs, giving the team an advantage over others in the NFL at that time.
Rooney Rule
Dan Rooney, the son of Art, was often by the family patriarch’s side in team operations throughout the years. His first role with the team was director of personnel. Though Art remained the face of the franchise until he died in 1988, Rooney was given full operational control in 1975.
Rooney shared his father’s progressive nature. He served as chairman of the NFL’s diversity committee and authored the Rooney Rule.
First adopted in 2003, the Rooney Rule was created to help ensure that minority candidates would receive equal opportunities when applying for head coach vacancies and various senior football positions. The rule requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate. It was conceived as a way to hire more minority coaches in a profession where almost 70% of players are black, but just 6% were minority head coaches at the time.
Even with the Rooney Rule, you still face the ownership of the NFL :/
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