PITTSBURGH -- On the field, the Pittsburgh Steelers have long been known for a hard-nosed running game and stingy defense.

Off the field, some questions that have surrounded the team for years are being answered in a new book by team chairman Dan Rooney.

"My 75 Years With The Pittsburgh Steelers And The NFL" answers some of the great mysteries, like why the Steelers did not pick University of Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino in the 1983 draft.

Rooney writes that he was ready to draft Marino at the urging of a local sports writer, but "I made a mistake. Instead of telling our (front office) I thought it up myself, I told them it was (the writer's) idea. And that was the end of it."

Years later, in 2005, that earlier misstep influenced Rooney's draft-day strategy.

"I couldn't bear the thought of passing on another great quarterback prospect the way we had passed on Dan Marino in 1983, so I steered the conversation around to (Ben) Roethlisberger," Rooney writes in the book.

Rooney also reveals his reasons for shutting down the Steelerettes -- the team's attempt at cheerleaders.

"TV cameras liked them, but we take our football seriously in Pittsburgh. We just didn't need them," Rooney writes in the book.

And what about the team's helmets, which only have a logo on one side? It may be the greatest mystery of all for Pittsburgh fans.

In 1962, "I told equipment manager Jack Hart to put the logo on one side only, until we decided whether we'd stick with it," Rooney writes.

After finishing that season with nine wins and five losses -- which, at that point, was the Steelers' best record ever, Hart asked Rooney if he should put the logo on both sides of the helmets.

"No. We got here with the logo on the right side, so let's keep it that way," Rooney writes.

Rooney's book is scheduled to be released next month.

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