SAMUEL V. “SAM” COOPER

VENETIA PA, MONGAHELA AND MARS HIGH SCHOOLS, GENEVA COLLEGE AND PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Sam was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers inaugural 1933 football team. He was signed by scouts from Art Rooney’s fledgling Pittsburgh Pirates for $100 per game. The Steelers were known as the same name as the city’s baseball team back then. He played only one season, helping the Steelers win three games with two ties and no one thought of football as a career back then. In 1932, he was the star captain of the Geneva College (’35 grad) football team and one of just a few student-athletes from around the country selected to play in the first North-South game in Baltimore, MD, on Dec. 10. At Geneva, Sam played against Duquesne in the first night game at Forbes Field in 1929. He played four years on both offensive and defensive lines. Along with football Cooper played baseball and track in high school. After his Steelers stint, Sam enjoyed a distinguished education career at several school districts, serving as a teacher, coach and administrator while also operating the family farm for 20 years in Low Pine, Washington County, with his wife Arnetta. He also worked for Jessop Steel, Co. Community-oriented, including service for the American Cancer Society, United Way, American Red Cross and as Church Elder, Sam received Geneva’s Alumni Association Award in 1987. He passed away on Aug. 22, 1998 at age of 89.