Donnie Shell, a Rock Hill resident, to be in 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame

Rock Hill has another connection to the NFL’s most elite club.

Donnie Shell, a Rock Hill resident and the formidable safety on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “steel curtain” defense in the 1970s, is a part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2020 class, the organization announced Wednesday.

Shell maintains the record for career interceptions as a strong safety, with 51, and, with the announcement, becomes the fifth Hall of Famer from the 1974 Steelers rookie class. He won four Super Bowls, made five Pro Bowls and was selected to be a part of the Steelers’ All-Time Team.

Shell grew up in Whitmire, S.C., and played for South Carolina State University. He signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 1974 and played 13 years in Pittsburgh before retiring.

His playing days over, Shell became the director of the Carolina Panthers’ player development program for 15 years, which is when he moved to Rock Hill. Shell’s son, Donnie, played as an offensive tackle at Rock Hill High School in the early 2000s.

This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 1:31 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Herald

Alex Zietlow writes about sports and the ways in which they intersect with life in York, Chester and Lancaster counties for The Herald, where he has been an editor and reporter since August 2019. Zietlow has won nine S.C. Press Association awards in his career, including First Place finishes in Feature Writing, Sports Enterprise Writing and Education Beat Reporting. He also received two Top-10 awards in the 2021 APSE writing contest and was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Rising Star award for his coverage of the Winthrop men’s basketball team.