Former Gophers linebacker Jim Fahnhorst, who played for three San Francisco 49ers teams that won the Super Bowl, died Wednesday.
He was 66.
The 49ers announced his death on social media Thursday, saying the franchise was “deeply saddened.”
Fahnhorst, a St. Cloud native, was a three-year letterwinner for the Gophers. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 1981.
He was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 1982 NFL draft. He turned down the Vikings’ contract offer and played two years in the USFL.
In 1984, he signed with the 49ers as a free agent and spent six seasons with them. The 49ers won the Super Bowl following the 1984, 1988 and 1989 seasons.
In his first four seasons with the 49ers, one of his teammates was his older brother Keith, who lettered for the Gophers from 1971 to 1973 and played for the 49ers from 1974 to 1987.
Keith Fahnhorst died in 2018.
