The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number.

No. 31: Donnie Shell

After waiting nearly three decades to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, what’s another 12-month delay in officially celebrating the achievement?

If not for the coronavirus pandemic, Donnie Shell would be getting ready for a Hall of Fame induction ceremony that was scheduled to take place in September for members of the Centennial Class. But with the pandemic postponing the ceremony, Shell won’t get to take the podium and cherish his bronze bust until August 2021 at the earliest.

Should be no big deal to a hard-hitting safety who became the 10th member of the 1970s Steelers dynasty to earn a spot in Canton, Ohio.

“One thing that kept me steady was my faith,” Shell said in January about his 28-year wait to make the Hall of Fame. “I had confidence that they would make the right decision. I think all of the numbers were there. I just had to keep praying, trusting.”

Despite retiring in 1987, Shell continues to hold the NFL record for interceptions by a strong safety (51). It was because of his excellence on the field that Shell was chosen by the Tribune-Review sports staff as the best Pittsburgh athlete to wear No. 31.

Shell’s selection made him the fifth member of the 1974 rookie class to make the Hall of Fame. He was the only one of the group that wasn’t drafted.

Still, Shell worked his way into the starting lineup, and after 1977, the Steelers traded former Pro Bowl safety Glen Edwards to San Diego so they could keep Shell and Mike Wagner in the secondary.

“Donnie wasn’t going to sit still about anything,” Hall of Famer Joe Greene told the Tribune-Review in January. “He let everybody know, the coach in particular, that he was ready to play. And we didn’t miss a beat.”

The Steelers won their third and fourth Super Bowl titles before the decade was over, and Shell made the Pro Bowl in each season. He finished with five Pro Bowl selections and was a three-time first-team All-Pro safety.

Shell became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1992, but the only time he made the top 15 finalists was in 2002. Despite the snub, he was selected as a finalist for the NFL’s 100th anniversary team.

It took the expanded Centennial Slate class for Shell to get the recognition that eluded him for so long.

“Don’t give up on your dreams and aspirations,” Shell said.

After Shell retired, the Steelers didn’t issue No. 31 again until 2001 when McKeesport native Mike Logan requested it. Logan wore the number for the final six seasons of his NFL career, and he was a member of the Super Bowl XL championship team.

Two prominent Pirates pitchers also wore No. 31.

Dave Giusti spent the 1970-76 seasons with the organization and was the closer on the 1971 World Series championship team when he saved a career-high 30 games.

Throwing the palmball as his go-to pitch, the right-handed Giusti had a 47-28 record, 2.94 ERA and 133 saves in 410 appearances with the Pirates.

Harvey Haddix authored the greatest pitching performance in baseball history May 26, 1959, his first of five seasons with the Pirates. Haddix took a perfect game into the 13th inning against the Milwaukee Braves only to have it broken up by a throwing error. He lost the no-hitter when Joe Adcock hit an apparent three-run homer with one out. Adcock, though, passed Hank Aaron on the bases, and his hit was ruled an RBI double for a 1-0 Pirates loss.

Haddix won two games in the 1960 World Series, including the decisive Game 7 on Bill Mazeroski’s homer in the ninth inning. Haddix was 45-38 with a 3.73 ERA in his five years with the Pirates.

For the Penguins, goalie Ken Wregget wore No. 31 for seven seasons. Acquired along with Rick Tocchet and Kjell Samuelsson in a pivotal trade in February 1992, Wregget played on that year’s Stanley Cup championship team. He also appeared in 25 playoff games from 1995-97. Wregget had a 104-67-21 record, six shutouts and an .898 save percentage with the Penguins

At Pitt, No. 31 belonged to defensive back Bob Jury, a 1977 All-American who still holds school records for career interceptions (21) and single-season interceptions (10). A South Park native, Jury was selected in the third round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers but only played one season in the NFL.

Duquesne’s Dave Ricketts averaged 17.9 points in the 1956-57 season, then played MLB for six seasons as a backup catcher. Wearing No. 5, Ricketts finished his career with the Pirates in 1970 and was the team’s bullpen coach for the next three seasons.

Check out the entire ’Burgh’s Best to Wear It series here.

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