seattle seahawks history

History

Seattle Seahawks Team  History of Glory & Pride

Seattle Seahawks Team History
Seattle Seahawks Team History

The Seattle Seahawks is undoubtedly one of the most successful and loved  teams in the history of the NFL. The level of its success is evident in the team’s three Super Bowl appearances and the unwavering loyalty of its fans. In fact, on December of 1984, Mike McCormack (the then Seahawks President) retired the number 12 jersey forever as a tribute to the team’s fans. But how did this team grow to register such success and a massive following? In this article, you will get a comprehensive Seattle Seahawks Team  History  as a franchise and as a football team.

Foundation and Franchise

After the 1970 merger of the AFL and NFL, the NFL started an expansion bid that saw it grow from 26 to 28 teams. Two years later (June 15, 1972), the Seattle Professional Football Inc.  announced its intention to start an NFL franchise for the Seattle area. On June 4, 1974, the NFL confirmed that the association had been granted an expansion franchise and on December 5, 1974, the then NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced its commissioning. The Nordstrom Family was the consortium’s majority partners and for that reason Lloyd W. Nordstrom signed the agreement.

Over the years, Seahawks’ ownership has changed three times. The Nordstrom family enjoyed majority shareholding from 1976 to 1988 after which the franchise’s ownership shifted to Ken Behring and Ken Hofmann who held it until 1997 when Paul Allen (Microsoft’s co-founder) bought the stake. He is still the present owner and under his stewardship, the team has recorded the most outstanding results; including three Super Bowl appearances.

Naming the Franchise

John Thompson started to serve  the unnamed team as the general manager on March 5, 1975. The former University of Washington executive was mandated with the responsibility of transforming the franchise into a football team. That was competitive enough to earn an impressive spot in the NFL. In the same year, the team launched a civic suggestion campaign  to get name suggestions for the team.

The campaign resulted in 20,365 entries that suggested 1,741 different names. Of all the suggested names, ‘Seahawks’ recorded 153 entries and was picked as the winner. The name was formally adapted and announced on June 17, 1975.

The First Chairman and Members

By 1976, the Seattle Seahawks had a complete management team with a front office and a coaching department. Elmer J. Nordstrom represented the Nordstrom family and was the chairman. Other members included:

  • Herman Sarkowsky – Managing General Partner
  • Howard S. Wright – Partner
  • E. (Ned) Skinner – Partner
  • Lamont Bean – Partner
  • Lynn P. Himmelman – Partner
  • John Thompson – General Manager
  • Mark Duncan – Assistant General Manager
  • Chuck Allen – Director of Pro Scouting
  • Dick Mansperger – Director of Player Personnel
  • Vince Lombardi (Jr.) – Administrative Assistant

 

Team Ownership

The desire and passion for football was enough for Paul G. Allen to persuade him to purchase the Seattle Seahawks. The America business tycoon is the founder as well as chairman of Vulcan Inc that manages his portfolio of businesses. He is currently the chairman of the club

First NFL Game

Seattle Seahawks Team History begins with the memorable Seattle Seahawks first game  in 1976. It was a day of mixed feelings as it happened just weeks before Lloyd W. Nordstrom who owned the team died from a heart attack. They went to play on 12 of January but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals by 30-24.

Super bowls Championships

The Seattle Seahawks are a force to reckon with and I am basing this looking at their recent performance. They have participated in the Super bowl championship for three times in 2005, 2013 and 2014. They convincingly managed to win the Super Bowl XLVII against the Denver Broncos. And not only that, but they came close to winning the other two games as well. They gave out their best performances although they lost marginally. They went down to Pittsburgh Steelers 21-10 in Super Bowl XL and New England Patriots 28-24.

Seahawks NFC Championships

The NFL two semi-final playoff games referred to The National Football Conference (NFC) Championship Game. The team has had a fair share of participating in the play offs. They consistently made it to the playoffs between 2003 and 2007.Seattle Seahawks have been successful based on their appearance in the NFC championship.

Historical Rivalry

American football is a game with many followers and as such, the fans expect the participating clubs to have a certain level of rivalry between them. The Seahawks, being one of those clubs, has developed historical rivalry in the couse of Seattle Seahawks Team History including the 49ers-seahawks  and the Broncos–seahawks Rivalry. The 49ers have played in the national conference while the Broncos played in the American conference.

The Logos and Uniforms of Seahawks

The management introduced the logo for the Seahawks first   in 1975. The logo is based on the Seattle area Native American culture. In 1976 they used silver color and their home uniforms was royal blue with white, blue and green arm strips. They currently use Navy, Green and Grey colors.

The Seahawk’s debut jersey featured silver pants and helmet. The home uniform was royal blue with green, white and blue arm stripes while the road uniform was white with green and blue stripes. The team wore black shoes for the first four seasons after which they  white replace the bleck  in 1980.

Popular player in Pro Football Hall of Fame

The most popular player in the Seahawks has been Shaun Alexander. His achievements was mainly in helping the team win the Super bowl Championship. He was also one of the most influential players of all times for the Seahawks. With 13 team and 9 NFL all time records, he is the star for the team.

 The Seattle Seahawks is one of the most successful teams in the NFL. Competing in the NFL as well as the NFC, they use the CenturyLink Field as their home ground. They are also the only team coming from Pacific Northwest region.

Seattle Seahawks Team History 2017

Similar Article on Seattle Seahawks Team  History