NFL Team History: The Seattle Seahawks

On June 4, 1974, the city of Seattle, Washington was granted an expansion franchise in the National Football League. The quest for an NFL franchise actually began two years prior when the Seattle Professional Football Inc. began pursuing a Seattle-based professional football team.

Leading the way for the Seattle group was Lloyd W. Nordstrom. Tragically, Nordstrom suffered a fatal heart attack before the franchise played their first game.

The name 'Seahawks' was selected as the team name and their home games were to be played at the Kingdome. Jack Patera was hired as the first head coach of the expansion franchise.

Initially, the Seahawks were placed in the NFC West Division; however they were transferred to the AFC West Division following the debut season.

The NFL held an expansion draft on March 30th, 1976. The expansion draft allowed the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to select various players from the twenty-six opposing NFL teams.

The Seahawks first NFL regular season game was in the friendly confines of the Kingdome and was filled to capacity. Unfortunately, the sold out crowd was not treated to a successful inauguration as the Seahawks fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 30-24.

After losing their first five games, the Seahawks finally broke into the win column by slipping past their expansion counterparts, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, by a score of 13-10.

The inaugural season in the NFL for the Seattle franchise resulted in a disappointing 2-12 regular season record.

In 1977, the Seahawks improved to 5-9. Their first winning season would not occur until the following season when they posted 9 wins versus 7 losses.

After failing to reach the post-season in the franchise's first seven seasons, the Seahawks front office replaced Mike McCormick with Chuck Knox as the head coach.

The transaction paid dividends in 1983 as the Seahawks clinched their first post-season berth with a 9-7 regular season record. In the Wild Card match-up, the Seahawks crushed the Denver Broncos 31-7 and followed that up with a 27-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Their Super Bowl dreams were shattered a week later following a 30-14 loss to the Los Angeles Raiders.

In 1984, the Seahawks easily surpassed their previous win total as they posted a remarkable 12-4 record. In the midst of their fantastic season, they would reel off eight consecutive wins down the stretch of the season. For the second consecutive season, the Seahawks were playoff bound.

In the Wild Card game, the Seahawks graciously returned the favor to the Los Angeles Raiders by defeating their divisional foes 13-7. In the previous season, the Raiders defeated the Seahawks for the AFC Championship. Following their victory over the Raiders, they would suffer a 31-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The Seahawks failed to reach the post-season in 1985 and 1986; however, they returned to the playoffs in 1987 after posting 9-6 record. Consequently, an overtime loss to the Houston Oilers in the Wild Card game ended their season.

A year later, the Seahawks captured their first AFC West Division title with a 9-7 regular season record. Although their record was far from impressive, they were the best of the west in 1988. Unfortunately, they were eliminated from playoff contention after the eventual AFC champions, Cincinnati Bengals, handed them a 21-13 defeat.

The loss to the Bengals began a playoff drought that lasted for 11 seasons.

In 1994, the Seahawks were forced to play their first three home games at Husky Stadium, which was the home of the University of Washington, while the Kingdome was under repair after a concrete block collapsed.

Following the 1995 season, Seattle Seahawks owner Ken Behring revealed his intentions to move the fledgling franchise to Los Angeles, California where the team would play their home games at Anaheim Stadium. However, it was proven that the Los Angeles area is more likely to suffer from an earthquake, discounting Behring's safety concerns in Seattle. Eventually, the move to Los Angeles was negated. Berhing opted to sell the franchise to Paul Allen. Allen is the co-founder for Microsoft.

Throughout the 1990's, the Seahawks enjoyed limited success. However, in 1999, they hired Mike Holmgren to become the head coach. The esteemed head coach had previously led the Green Bay Packers to two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl championship.

Later that season, the Seahawks clinched the AFC West Division title with a 9-7 regular season record. The division crown led to their first playoff appearance since 1988. In the Wild Card match-up, the Seahawks would marginally lose to the Miami Dolphins 20-17, ending their most successful season of the decade.

Two years later, the Seahawks posted another 9-7 season; however, this time, despite the winning record, they would not qualify for post-season play.

In 2002, the Seahawks were transferred to the NFC West Division due to the NFL realignment. The NFC West was the division that the Seahawks were originally placed in back in 1976. Furthermore, their new stadium, Seahawks Stadium, was complete after two seasons playing in Husky Stadium. Seahawks Stadium eventually became Qwest Field. Their return to the NFC resulted in a middling 7-9 regular season record.

A year later, things began to fall into place for the Seahawks. Led by running back Shaun Alexander and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, they would clinch their first playoff berth since 1999 with a 10-6 regular season record. In the post-season, the Seahawks traveled to the hallowed grounds of Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. Ironically, Green Bay was the previous home for head coach Mike Holmgren. In overtime, the Seahawks were defeated 33-27 after Hasselbeck threw an interception which resulted in a Packers touchdown.

In 2004, the Seahawks were led by Shaun Alexander who rushed for 20 touchdown scores as well as 1,696 rushing yards. They would clinch the NFC West Division with a 9-7 record, but their NFC West adversaries, the St. Louis Rams, edged out the Seahawks 27-20 in the Wild Card showdown.

The Seahawks exceeded their high expectations in 2005 as they eased through their NFL schedule with a 13-3 regular season record. Not only were the Seahawks NFC West Division champions, they had clinched home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

They hosted the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship game, and showed little signs of decelerating as they steamrolled the Panthers 34-14. For the first time in franchise history, the Seahawks were headed to the Super Bowl.

In Super Bowl XL, the Seahawks faced the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite their superb record, the Seahawks were listed as 11-point underdogs to the Steelers. Unfortunately, the boys in Las Vegas were right on the money as the Steelers defeated the Seahawks 21-10, ending the remarkable Super Bowl run by the Seattle franchise.

Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander was named the NFL MVP in 2005 after scoring 28 touchdowns, which would set an NFL record. The record was broken a year later by San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

The subsequent season resulted in their third consecutive NFC West Division title, and their fourth consecutive post-season appearance. In the post-season, the Seahawks barely squeezed by the Dallas Cowboys 21-20 in the Wild Card game, but fell short to the Chicago Bears a week later as they were defeated 27-24 in overtime.