One scene that repeated itself over and over in my head was an encounter that Pittsburgh Tribune-Review sports columnist John Harris and I had bumping into Mr. Nunn one afternoon several years ago descending the stairs at the Steelers practice facility on Pittsburgh’s South Side as we were on our way up to the media room. He looked over at me with that usual gleam in his eye and asked, “boy are you alright?” “Yes, sir,” I replied almost snapping to attention.
See, with all of the negative connotations surrounding the use of the word “boy” it often remains unacceptable to employ the word even when it is made use of by African-Americans. However, each time that he referred to you as “boy,” the moment became more memorable and magical because when Bill Nunn Jr. ceased to be formal with you, it was then and only then that you knew you had arrived.
Now here I was arriving at his memorial, what a strange sensation for me. One of the other hats that I wear is that of musical promoter. I have booked musical groups (over 60 shows in Pittsburgh alone) and individuals such as War, Norman Connors, Roy Ayers, Chick Corea and Diane Reeves and a few more (some shows bombed and I don’t care to recall those). Although these are great artists in their own right but none have ever come close to having the impact on me that Bill Nunn Jr. did. As far as sports ownership goes in the mid 1960s when Dan Rooney was handed the reins of much of the day-to-day team operations by his father Art Rooney (The Chief) Dan Rooney then made the decision to hire Charles Henry (Chuck) Noll to coach the talent and William (Bill) Nunn Jr. to become an integral part of and eventually the head of scouting operations. When Bill Nunn Jr. helped identify the talent, the Steelers ownership and administration became athletic alchemists and chemists turning lead laden athletic pools into silver Lombardi trophies all the while developing an antidote and antibiotic that rescued a team and a city from the systemic poison of losing and the bacteria of incompetence that up until that point seemed to have been running rampant through their social and economic veins with no relief in sight.
This is the first of a five part series on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Bill Nunn Jr. from the upcoming book “Portrait of Eternity; The Life and Journey of Bill Nunn Jr.,” by Aubrey Bruce. Next week; “Omega.”
(Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-583-6741.)
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