It’s been almost four decades since Todd Shell last played for the San Francisco 49ers, and the team has now confirmed his death. A two-time Super Bowl champion with the franchise, he never returned to the field after an on-field injury left him paralyzed in 1988. The 49ers have shared their condolences now.

“The 49ers mourn the passing of former linebacker and Super Bowl XIX Champion Todd Shell. Our organization sends its deepest condolences to his wife, Kelli, and the entire Shell family,” the 49ers posted on Instagram.

Todd Shell, a former Mountain View High standout who went on to win two Super Bowls with the 49ers, has died at 64. Toros coach Andy Litten said Shell passed away Sunday, Nov. 1, and that he got the news through the family. Cause of death has not been shared yet.

San Francisco selected him with the 24th overall pick of the 1984 NFL draft, and he spent four seasons with the 49ers. Even after a career-ending injury in 1988, football stayed in his life.

He served as defensive coordinator for the Arizona Rattlers in 1994, when the team captured its first Arena Bowl title, and he later spent a year as their head coach.

Long before the NFL, Shell was a big deal in Arizona. At Mountain View, he cleared seven feet in the high jump and earned all-state recognition in football. He made both the Arizona Republic Super 24 and the Arizona Star Super 11, and he picked up Adidas All-American honors too.

Colleges noticed. Arizona, Arizona State, and UCLA all recruited him, but he chose BYU and planned to major in medical technology. Shell is the son of Robert and Mary, and his wife is Kelli Gardner.

At BYU, from 1980 to 1983, the linebacker played 40 games and finished with nine interceptions for 140 yards.

Back home, the Toros are finding ways to honor him. Litten said the team will wear No. 90 on their helmets for the rest of the season, and they will observe a moment of silence before Friday’s game, Nov. 6. That night is the regular season finale against Gilbert Highland.

The captains will carry Shell’s No. 90 jersey to midfield for the coin toss.

Shell’s connection to the school never really faded. Litten said he had even coached some of the current players in the feeder program, and he spoke warmly about what Shell meant to the program.

“He was always a huge supporter of our program and a staple in our community,” Litten said.

For someone so committed, Shell was once hoping for a second chance, and it began with a scary moment at training camp.

Todd Shell’s NFL career ended after an injury

Shell played 38 NFL games, started 15, and intercepted 5 passes for 115 yards, including one returned for a touchdown. His rookie year offered a memorable moment in Week 13 against the New Orleans Saints. Shell returned an interception 53 yards for a score and also piled up at least two sacks in the same game, something no rookie in the NFL had done before.

But the promise of those early years was cut short in July 1988, during a morning training camp workout, when he collided with Ron Heller.

His spinal cord was pinched. He wasn’t able to move, and he later called it the most frightening moment of his life. His mind went to Darryl Stingley, the former Patriots receiver who had been paralyzed ten years earlier.

“As I lay there on the ground, unable to move, I flashed on that article and that picture of Stingley with a halo thing holding up his head,” Shell said. “I thought how those are always things that happen to everybody else, but never to you, right?

“Then I really got scared. Would I be able to move some part of my body in a few minutes? A few hours? Days? Then I thought of Stingley again. I’d never been so scared in my life.”

Shell did have a hopeful example in Mike Wilson, who hurt his spine against Washington in 1985. Doctors diagnosed stenosis and told him to quit, but second opinions showed it was only swelling, and he was starting again in 1986. Shell hoped for the same ending.

It never came, and now Shell is a memory for the team that drafted him.