Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette Jack McGinley, 85, stands in front of a Steelers-Bengals photo taken in a snowstorm in Cincinnati.

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette John R. (Jack) McGinley, 85, is one of two vice presidents among only five names listed in the Steelers' administration. His family has owned part of the team, founded in 1933, for more than 60 years. Barney McGinley, his father, purchased 42 percent of the team in the 1940s. His four children, including Jack, each inherited 10.5 percent of the club. Upon the death of two of Jack's siblings, the Rooneys bought their shares. Jack and his sister, Rita, each own 10.5 percent of the Steelers and the other 79 percent is split among the five Rooney sons of founder Art Rooney Sr. Jack was married to The Chief's sister, Marie Rooney, who died in 2003. They had five sons and a daughter. Jack McGinley is a partner in Wilson-McGinley, Inc., the Strip District wholesaler for Miller and Heineken beers in Allegheny County. The Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette interviewed him recently.

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Q. How did your father come to purchase part of the Steelers?

McGinley: It was during the war. I was away, 1942 or '43. I was in the Navy at the time. We had the Rooney-McGinley boxing club. I don't remember, but my dad was more interested in the boxing. He and Art were partners. Art sold the Steelers to Alexis Thompson, a rich guy from Philadelphia (in 1941), and he took the Steelers to Philadelphia. Then Bert Bell brought the Eagles to Pittsburgh. That was before dad bought the stock. Art bought some of Bert's stock, and dad bought the balance. Art had 58 percent and dad had 42.

Q. Did you work for the Steelers when you were young?

McGinley: After I graduated from Pitt in '41, I did the publicity for the boxing club and the football team. We had the football and boxing in the same office. We had two rooms in the Fort Pitt Hotel, and they weren't very big. We had fight tickets in one drawer and football tickets in the other. We didn't have the crowds you do now. There were only two of us; a fellow by the name of Joe Carr, he was the ticket manager for both the fights and the football. It was a different world.

Q. What did you do in World War II?

McGinley: I was the engineering officer on LST 314 [landing ship tanks, invasion ships]. We were in the Mediterranean for 10 months, invaded Sicily and Italy and then were sent to England for the Normandy invasion. We were there on D-Day. We had a load of ducks [land/sea vehicles] and were about 6 miles out. We couldn't get in too close. We had six small boats and also took anti-aircraft in. We got four boats back; one was all shot up. We were sunk the morning of June 9, about 2 in the morning. The Germans had E-Boats, like our PT Boats. They carried a couple of torpedoes. They came out at night and were very fast. We had a convoy of five. I was picked up about 6 in the morning. We were in the drink maybe 3 hours. A British destroyer picked us up in the morning. The water was about 52 degrees.

Q. What did you do after the war?

McGinley: I went right back to work in the office. Sold tickets, did the publicity. I was a matchmaker for about seven years. You made the boxing matches. I did the publicity, sold tickets. I did everything. The matchmaker ran the club. Our best match was Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott for the heavyweight title in 1951. It drew almost 29,000 at Forbes Field. That was the biggest boxing crowd ever in Pittsburgh. We were co-promoters for a lot of matches with the Dapper Dan and [former Post-Gazette sports editor] Al Abrams. I bet we promoted 7 to 10 fights with them. Al was a great boxing man, that was his sport.

Q. What was it like being around a pro football team then?

McGinley: It was a different era until Jock Sutherland came. He changed things. Before that, we had a couple of assistants. I remember in '41 Bert was the head coach. He lost four in a row and then he resigned. Art hired Buff Donelli, and he coached us in the morning and Duquesne in the afternoon. Buff had a fancy offense, a lot of hidden ball stuff and wasn't having much success. We were training in the morning at Moore Field in Brookline. Somebody called one Saturday morning and said Buff isn't here. I called Duquesne, and they said he's on the train, we're playing at St. Mary's (in California). He didn't tell anybody. Art appointed Walt Kiesling, he was the pinch-hitter. Art made him the head coach. We had a game the next day. That was Buff's resignation as coach. Oh, it was a different world.

Q. How long did you work for the Steelers?

McGinley: I was active in it until maybe '54, '55. The boxing business went under; television put it out. We closed that up about the end of '53. I had gone into the beer business with Fritz Wilson. It was a different era. There weren't too many good jobs there. Fran Fogarty ran the business, and Ed Kiely was the publicity director and that was about it. I spent all my time at the beer business and traveled with the team. I never really did anything after that. I always kept close, but drifted away.

Q. How did you find the Chief, Art Rooney?

McGinley: He was Marie's brother. They were very close. Marie was the baby. He and I were good friends. When we'd go to the games, we'd always eat together. Go to the track together if there was a town that had a track. I followed him [handicapping].

Q. What has owning part of the Steelers meant to you?

McGinley: It never changed. Always friendly. It was great fun. I traveled for years and years. I'd go to exhibition games, never missed an away game for years. I had some wonderful times.

Q. Will you be getting one for the thumb?

McGinley: Oh, sure. I have four. Danny and I are close.

Q. Did you make the trip to Detroit?

McGinley: I did Detroit the last Super Bowl [in 1982], and it was such a miserable trip for Marie and I. I haven't gone to a Super Bowl the last 7, 8 years. I've been to a ton. I didn't go to this last one. Danny took care of everybody. Thirty of our guys went, the boys and their families. Danny's good. He chartered a plane. Art and Tim and John and Pat (Dan Rooney's four brothers) went. They had a great time. They had a dinner Saturday night for the Rooney and McGinley families. I think there was over 100 there.

Q. Who was your favorite Steelers player?

McGinley: It's hard to say, there were so many great players. I always liked Bill Dudley, thought he was a great player. The Chief named a horse after him, Bullet Bill. Oh, he could play. When I came back from the war, he started in '42. I saw him play one game, and then he went [into the service] for two, three years, came back and started in '46. Jack Butler was a great football player.

Q. Which was your favorite team?

McGinley: I thought the best team we had was the team that got beat by Oakland in the final playoff. We beat Baltimore by a lot [the previous week]. Rocky [Bleier] and Franco [Harris] both got hurt. Frenchy [Fuqua] had been hurt. We only had one running back, Reggie Harrison. That was a terrific team. But all those Super Bowl teams were on a par.

Q. How did this team stack up?

McGinley: When you get older, it's not life and death anymore. It was very enjoyable, but you don't die when they get beat. It was a great season. This was a terrific football team, I thought. I never gave up on them. Here's a team that won 15 games last year, and they had some key guys hurt. Ben was hurt, the wrong guys were hurt. Once they got the team on the field, they played well. I thought they were sensational in the playoffs, great games, great for the fans.

Q. Do you think the McGinleys will always own part of the Steelers?

McGinley: You never know. Who knows what the future's like? I know I'll never sell it.

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Correction/Clarification: (Published March 8, 2006) The photo originally published with this story on March 6, 2006 showed Steelers part-owner Jack McGinley standing in front of a photo of a Steelers-Bengals game. The original caption incorrectly said the photo depicted a Steelers-Browns game.