Donnie Shell (born August 26, 1952) is a former

American Football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

between 1974 and 1987. Shell was a member of the Steelers famed

Steel Curtain The Steel Curtain was the defensive line of the 1970s American football team Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). The line was the backbone of the Steelers dynasty, which won four Super Bowls ( IX, X, XIII, and XIV) in s ...

defense in the 1970s. Shell retired as the NFL strong safety career leader in

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

s with 51. He started 11 consecutive seasons for the Steelers and was selected to the Steelers All-Time Team, the College Football Hall of Fame, the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

(Class of 2020), and to the NFL Silver Anniversary Super Bowl Team.

Early life

Shell grew up in the town of

Whitmire, South Carolina Whitmire is a town in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States, along the Enoree River. The population was 1,441 at the 2010 census. The town was named for George Fredrick Whitmire, who came from Stuttgart, Germany. History The earliest se ...

. He played on the Whitmire High School football team, where in his senior season as a linebacker, his team did not allow a single touchdown by opponents. Shell played college football for

Willie Jeffries Willie E. Jeffries (born January 4, 1937) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at South Carolina State University for 19 seasons in two stints, five seasons at Wichita State University, and five sea ...

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a memb ...

, where he was teammates with future New York Giants and Hall of Fame

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Harry Carson Harry Donald Carson (born November 26, 1953) is a former American football middle linebacker who played his entire professional career for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Carson was inducted into the College Football Ha ...

and earned All-American and all conference honors. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Shell was signed undrafted by the Steelers, where he played his entire career, winning four Super Bowls with the Steeler teams of the 1970s. Shell is a member of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Incorporated.

NFL career

Shell was a five-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er between 1978 and 1982, a 4-time All-Pro selection, and was the Steelers team MVP in 1980. He saved several possible six points in Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XIV. He had been in the top 15 in balloting for the

once before, in 2002 but with no success. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Shell to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2013 In 2019, despite not being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was chosen as a finalist for the NFL’s 100th Anniversary Team Shell resides in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the largest city in York County, South Carolina and the fifth-largest city in the state. It is also the fourth-largest city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, behind Charlotte, Concord, and Gastonia (all located in North Carolina, ...

and was the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

Director of Player Development from 1994 to 2009. He played in 201 games for the Steelers, only behind other Steelers legends like

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...

(249), Hall of Famer

Mike Webster Michael Lewis Webster (March 18, 1952September 24, 2002) was an American professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. He is a membe ...

(220) and

Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American football coach and former wide receiver of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ...

(who played in 217 games). On January 15, 2020, Shell was announced as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Centennial Class of 2020. He was inducted by

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's teams be ...

, another Hall of Famer and Steelers legend.

Post-retirement

Shell previously served as Director of Spiritual Life at

Johnson C. Smith University Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a private historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The univer ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. He currently lives in South Carolina and has three children and three grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shell, Donnie 1952 births Living people American football safeties Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from South Carolina South Carolina State Bulldogs football players American Conference Pro Bowl players College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Whitmire, South Carolina Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees