David Finoli, Tom Rooney, Tim Rooney, Chris Fletcher, and Frank Garland visit Riverstone with their new book, PITTSBURGH SPORTS IN THE 1970S
Stop by McCandless Crossing the evening of Friday, October 13th, to meet a bevy of local sports authors. They'll be signing their new book celebrating one of the greatest eras of Pittsburgh sports, the 1970s!
David Finoli, having grown up in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is a passionate fan of Western Pennsylvania sports, which has been the subject of most of the books he has produced. A graduate of the Duquesne University School of Journalism, where he is featured on the Wall of Fame in Duquesne’s journalism and multimedia department, Finoli has penned thirty-seven books highlighting the stories of the great franchises in this area, such as the Pirates, Penguins, Steelers, Duquesne basketball and Pitt football, to name a few. In one of his latest books, Pittsburgh’s Greatest Players, he not only ranks the top fifty players in Western Pennsylvania history but also includes a list of every Hall of Fame athlete who represented the area. Winner of Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best of the ’Burgh local author award for 2018, Finoli lives in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Vivian. He also has three children, Tony, Cara, Matt; his daughter-in-law Susan; a son-in-law, Andrew; and three grandchildren, River, Emmy and Ellie.
Tom Rooney had three stretches of duty at the Civic Arena. As an usher while matriculating across the way at Duquesne University, he worked at least 100 events a year for four years (1969–73), a great way to see his beloved Penguins and actually get paid for it. For a decade (1981–90), he worked for the DeBartolo-owned Civic Arena Corporation, running and promoting events and marketing teams like the Pens, soccer Spirit and indoor football Gladiators. He spent four more years (1999–2003) working for Mario Lemieux as president of the Pens. Under the dome was his home away from home.
Tim Rooney is a nephew of Pittsburgh Steeler founder Art Rooney. Rooney earned a degree in education and English from Duquesne University and then began a teaching and football-coaching career at Canevin High School in Pittsburgh in 1964. In 1968, Rooney became an assistant football coach at Villanova University. His 1968 freshman team was 7–0 and was the first undefeated team in Villanova’s football history. Rooney was the director of pro personnel for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1972 to 1979, during the Steelers’ ascendancy to Super Bowl victories. At that time, Rooney received three of the five Super Bowl rings he was to earn. Tim joined the New York Giants as director of pro personnel in April 1985 and was a member of that organization when the Giants won the first two of their Super Bowls. Tim and his wife, Mary Ann, returned to their Pittsburgh roots in 2010. Tim was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
Chris Fletcher, based in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania, is a writer, marketer, fundraiser and all-around swell guy. Chris is the former publisher and editor of Pittsburgh Magazine, where he won 10 Golden Quill Awards. Under his direction, the magazine earned the prestigious White Award as the country’s top city magazine in 1995 from the City and Regional Magazine Association. Fletcher also teamed up with David Finoli to author two other sports books, Steel City Gridirons and The Steel City 500. A 1984 graduate of Duquesne University’s journalism program, Chris still dreams of catching one more contest in the old Civic Arena (provided it wouldn’t be in one of the obstructed-view seats).
Pittsburgh native Frank Garland is a longtime journalist, author and college professor with a lifelong passion for baseball. He worked for more than thirty years at several Northern California newspapers and since 2005 has been teaching at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. His biography of Willie Stargell, Willie Stargell: A Life in Baseball, was published in 2013 by McFarland & Company. He is wrapping up his second biography for McFarland, of Pirates Hall of Famer Arky Vaughan.