CANTON, Ohio – Five years ago, Steelers great Donnie Shell took the stage at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium as the presenter for his friend and former teammate Tony Dungy. On Saturday night, it was finally Shell’s turn to make an enshrinement speech of his own.
Shell had to wait longer than any of his teammates from the vaunted Steel Curtain defense, but better late than never. Thirty-three years after his final game with the Steelers, Shell joined Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert and Joe Greene from those defenses that helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls in a six-year span from 1974-79.
“It’s been a long journey, but a good one,” Shell said during his enshrinement speech. “I arrived in Pittsburgh in 1974 as an undrafted free agent. And now I’m in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Only God can do that.”
Fighting for respect is nothing new for Shell having entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina State. He made the Steelers roster as a special-teams demon, which is how he got his nickname “The Torpedo.” A short time later, he fit right in among the greatest rookie class in NFL history as he developed into one of the top strong safeties in the league.
In 1974, the Steelers drafted Lambert, Mike Webster, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, all of whom previously were elected to the Hall of Fame. Shell is the 10th Steelers player from the 1970s Steelers dynasty to be enshrined.
During his speech, Shell relayed a story from his rookie season when a reporter asked to interview him and informed him of his odds of making the team.
“He began the interview with the statement: ‘Don’t you know you’re a long shot to make the team because you’re an undrafted free agent?’” Shell said. “Obviously, he’s not familiar with coach Willie Jeffries from South Carolina State University and the South Carolina State bulldog mentality. However, factually, he was correct. When the facts get in the way of your goal you must go against the grain to achieve your goal. I looked him square in the eye and I said, ‘I’m from South Carolina State. Coach Willie Jeffries said I can do whatever I want to do when I get to training camp, and I had a good chance to make the team.’ ”
Shell also mentioned former Steelers coach Chuck Noll for giving him a chance and to scout Bill Nunn, who will be enshrined posthumously Sunday night along with the rest of the 2021 Hall of Fame class.
“Praise God for Bill Nunn, who advocated for players and to foresee to see my ability to go from linebacker to strong safety,” he said.
Shell was presented by his daughter, April.
Two other Steelers — Troy Polamalu and Bill Cowher — and Freedom, Pa., native and former Pitt player Jimbo Covert also are being enshrined Saturday night.
Covert, a 1978 graduate of Freedom High School, also was enshrined Saturday night. He played four years at Pitt and earned All-American honors as a senior before he was the No. 6 overall pick in the 1983 draft, which was 21 picks before Dan Marino, his college teammate at Pitt and a member of the 2005 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
“I grew up Conway, Pa. It’s still home,” Covert said. “Right down Route 65 is Freedom High School. Go Bulldogs.”
Covert also mentioned many of his Pitt teammates and specifically former Pitt coach Jackie Sherrill, who was in attendance, and the late Joe Moore, Pitt’s longtime offensive line coach.
"After I was switched from defense to offensive line, the first practice he said, ‘You’re going to be an All-American someday. I would have run through a wall for him after he said that.”
