Silas Rooney

Silas Rooney
born Daniel Rooney

• School St. Bonaventure College, Duquesne University

• Born January 12, 1903 in Wales, PA? USA
• Died January 9, 1981 in St. Petersburg, FL USA

Biographical Information

The brother of minor league player and manager (and NFL owner/Hall of Famer) Art Rooney, Silas Rooney was a college coach.

Rooney played football and baseball in college as well as boxing. He once played an exhibition game against Smokey Joe Williams and the Homestead Grays, chasing Williams out of the park with a bat after being hit by a pitch from the future Hall of Famer. He had a $5,000 offer from the New York Yankees but decided to become a priest instead. He served in China from 1936-1941, saving two babies when bandits wanted to throw them in a river, but was expelled when the Communists took control. He was a US military chaplain during World War II. He was director of athletics at St. Bonaventure for 10 years, coaching the baseball team in 1950.

Sources: Franciscan Friars, 1981 New York Times article