4. The first NFL game played on Sunday in Pittsburgh was technically illegal
When Pennsylvania’s voters overturned the blue law which had prevented Sunday play, the next Steeler game was scheduled for the following Sunday. The law was technically still in effect. Religious groups, led by the clergy of several religious denominations, had fought against the blue law being repealed, and demanded that the law be enforced throughout the few days it had remained on the books. The game scheduled in Pittsburgh was threatened by police raids, placing the team’s owner under arrest for holding an illegal game on the Sabbath. Numerous clergymen in Pittsburgh demanded the order be enforced, and threatened to demonstrate to ensure it was, bringing their flocks with them.
Art Rooney, the Steelers’ owner and another driving force in having the law changed, was aware that his fledgling NFL franchise could not survive a police raid and the consequences which would ensue. Rooney contacted the police superintendent for the city of Pittsburgh and asked who had the authority to prevent the game from being played. He was told the Allegheny County Sheriff was one of two men who could stop the game, but that worthy was to be out of town for the weekend. When the superintendent informed Rooney that he was the other, Rooney appeased him with tickets for the contest, and the NFL in Pittsburgh was saved.