Jim Fahnhorst, longtime 49ers linebacker and three-time Super Bowl champion, dies at 66
Fahnhorst won Super Bowls XIX, XVIII and XXIV during his San Francisco career
Three-time Super Bowl champion linebacker Jim Fahnhorst, who played seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, died Wednesday, the team announced. He was 66.
Fahnhorst joined the 49ers in 1984 after spending two years in the USFL. The former fourth-round pick and No. 92 overall selection of the Minnesota Vikings did not play for his home-state team and later signed with the 49ers as a free agent, eventually spending the entirety of his NFL career in San Francisco. He was a contributing member of the 49ers teams that won Super Bowls XIX, XVIII and XXIV.
Throughout his time with the franchise, Fahnhorst made 82 appearances and started 38 games for the 49ers, logging 232 career tackles, seven interceptions and a sack. He also played in six postseason games and made an additional five starts.
Fahnhorst was the younger brother of former 49ers offensive lineman Keith Fahnhorst, who also had a lengthy career in San Francisco with a 14-year stint from 1974-87. The brothers played four seasons together.
The younger Fahnhost was a first-team All-Big Ten standout at Minnesota in 1981 and later earned a psychology degree at the University of San Francisco. He embarked on a coaching career at the end of his playing days and spent time on staff at Division III Macalester College and at high schools in the Minneapolis, Minn. area.
