Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks
Based in Seattle, Washington, USA, Seattle Seahawks are a professional football team. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team joined the NFL in 1976 as expansion teams. Seattle is the only team to play in both the AFC (American Football Conference) and NFC Championship Games. They have one Super Bowl appearance, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL.

Franchise History
On June 15, 1972 Seattle Professional Football Inc., a group of Seattle business and community leaders, announced its intention to acquire an NFL franchise for the city of Seattle, WA. On June 4, 1974, the NFL awarded the group an expansion franchise. On December 5, 1974, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced the official signing of the franchise agreement by Lloyd W. Nordstrom, representing the Nordstrom family as majority partners for the consortium. Sadly, Lloyd died on January 20, 1976, just months before the Seahawks played their first game.

On March 5, 1975 John Thompson, a former University of Washington executive, was hired as the general manager of the team. Seattle Seahawks was selected as a name on June 17, 1975 after a public naming contest. Thompson hired Jack Patera, a Minnesota Vikings assistant coach, to be the first head coach of the new team, and he was introduced at a press conference on January 3, 1976. The expansion draft was held March 30 through the 31, 1976, with Seattle and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers alternating picks for rounds selecting unprotected players from the other 26 teams in the league. The Seahawks were awarded the 2nd overall pick in the 1976 draft, a pick they used on defensive tackle Steve Niehaus. The team took the field for the first time on August 1, 1976 in a pre-season game against the San Francisco 49ers in the then brand new Kingdome.

The Seahawks are the only NFL team to switch conferences twice in the post-merger era. The franchise began play in 1976 in the NFC West division but switched conferences with the Buccaneers after one season and joined the AFC West. The league as part of the 1976 expansion plan dictated this realignment, so that both expansion teams could play each other twice and every other NFL franchise once during their first two seasons. In 2002, the Seahawks were returned to the NFC West as part of an NFL shift plan giving each conference four balanced divisions of four teams each. This step restored the AFC West to its initial post-merger roster of original AFL teams Denver, San Diego, Kansas City and Oakland.

Seattle has won five division titles in their franchise history: the 1988 and 1999 AFC West titles, and the 2004, 2005, and 2006 NFC West titles. They have won the NFC Championship Game once in 2005, and lost the AFC Championship Game once in 1983. Prior to 2005 Seattle had the longest drought of playoff victories of any NFL team, dating back to the 1984 season. That drought was ended with a 20-10 win over the Washington Redskins in the 2005 playoffs. The all-time Seahawks playoff record is (6-9).

Logo and uniforms
In 1976, the team's logo was a stylized royal blue and forest green hawk's head based on Northwestern tribal art. The helmet and pants were silver while the home uniforms were royal blue with white, blue and green arm stripes. The road uniform was white with blue and green arm stripes.

In 1983, with the arrival of Chuck Knox as coach, the uniforms were updated slightly. The striping on the arms now included the Seahawks logo, and the TV numbers moved onto the shoulders. Helmet facemasks changed from silver to blue.

In 2002, both the logo and the uniforms were heavily redesigned. The colors were modified to a lighter "Seahawks Blue", a darker "Seahawks Navy" and neon green piping. The helmets also were changed from silver to the lighter "Seahawks Blue". Due to the reflectivity of the paint used, the appearance of the helmets' color can vary widely between gray, navy, and turquoise, depending on the lighting. The team has usually worn all blue at home and all white on the road since 2003. The blue-on-white combo has been worn for only one regular season game, the 2005 season opener at the Jacksonville Jaguars, while the white-on-blue combination has not been worn since late in the 2002 season.

The Seahawks are one of two teams to never wear their white jerseys at home, along with the Oakland Raiders.

Team records
Career
Most Blocked Punts: Kerry Justin (3)
Most Blocked Field Goals: Joe Nash (8)
Most Blocked PAT's: Mike White (3)
Most Blocked Kicks (FGs and PATs): Joe Nash (10)
Most Combined Kick Returns: Charlie Rogers (207)
Most Kick Return Yards: Charlie Rogers (4,139)
Most Kick Returns for Touchdowns: Joey Galloway (4)
Most Combined Attempts: Chris Warren (1,943)
Most Combined Yards Gained: Steve Largent (13,396)
Most Forced Fumbles: Jacob Green (28)
Most Fumbles: Brandon Rucker (226)
Most Fumbles for Touchdown: Chad Brown (3)
Most Fumbles Recovered, Own and Opponent

Season
Most Blocked Field Goals: Joe Nash, 3 (1989)
Most Blocked PATs: Mike White, 2 (1981)
Most Combined Kick Returns: Charlie Rogers, 92 (2000)
Most Kick Return Yards: Charlie Rogers, 1,992 (2000)
Most Kick Return Touchdowns: Joey Galloway, 2 (1998)
Most Combined Attempts: Shaun Alexander, 385 (2005)
Most Combined Attempts (Rookie): Curt Warner, 379 (1983)
Most Combined Net Yards Gained: Charlie Rogers, 1,992 (2000)
Most Combined Net Yards Gained (Rookie): Curt Warner, 1,774 (1983)
Most Fumbles: Dave Krieg, 18 (1989)
Most Opponents' Fumbles Recovered: Nesby Glasgow, 5 (1989)
Most Interceptions By, Rookie: Michael Boulware, 5 (2004)

Retired numbers
12 "Fans/The Twelfth Man", dedicated to Seahawks fans
80 Steve Largent
o Note: Brought out of retirement for a portion of the 2004 season for Jerry Rice, after Largent agreed to Rice's request.

Seahawks Ring of Honor
22 Dave Brown, CB, 1976 - 86 (Inducted 1992)
45 Kenny Easley, S, 1981 - 87 (Inducted 2002)
79 Jacob Green, DE, 1980 - 91 (Inducted 1995)
Pete Gross, the "original" voice of the Seahawks, 1976 - 92, died in December 1992 due to cancer (Inducted November, 1992 just two days before his passing)
96 Cortez Kennedy, DT, 1990-2000 (Inducted 2006)
Chuck Knox, Head Coach, 1983 - 91 (Inducted 2005)

Current staff
Owner/Chairman - Paul Allen
Chief Executive Officer - Tod Leiweke
President/General Manager - Tim Ruskell
EVP of Football Operations - Mike Holmgren
Head Coach - Mike Holmgren
Assistant Head Coach - Jim Mora

Radio and television
As of 2006, the Seahawks' flagship station is KIRO 710AM. It is the only station the team has ever had. The current announcers are former Seahawks Steve Raible and Warren Moon. Pete Gross, who called the games from 1976 until just days before his death from cancer in 1992, is a member of the team's Ring of Honor. Games are heard on 47 stations in five states and Canada. Preseason games not shown on national networks are televised by KING-TV, channel 5. Verne Lundquist was the play-by-play announcer in 2006; Fox Sports Net produced the games.

Super Bowl Tickets