Over the past twenty years, the Seattle Seahawks have been one of the more successful franchises in the NFL. Since the 2004 season alone, the Seahawks have won the NFC West Division Title on nine different occasions, have made it to three Super Bowls, and have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy once, following a major win over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Here are six facts about the Seattle Seahawks, who have been playing in the National Football League since the 1976 season.
6 Seattle Seahawks Facts
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- The first ever draft selection for the Seahawks only played in Seattle for three seasons. (source) The Seahawks began play for the 1976 NFL season, and with the second overall pick of the Draft that year, Seattle selected defensive lineman Steve Niehaus out of Notre Dame. However, Niehaus’ tenure in Seattle wouldn’t last long. The former Notre Dame standout would only play for the Seahawks from 1976 through 1978, and would finish his professional football career after spending the 1979 season with the Minnesota Vikings. During his time in Seattle, Steve Niehaus was named the 1976 NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year, but unfortunately had his career cut short due to several knee injuries.
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- There were several team names suggested by fans, before “Seahawks” was ultimately chosen. (source) For the football fans in Seattle, it’s a good thing that “Seahawks” was eventually picked a the team’s nickname going forward. In the early 1970s when a name was being decided on, fans had pitched ideas, with some of the rejected names including the Seattle Rainbeams, Seattle Pachyderms, Washington Georges and the Seattle Running Salmon.
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- The Seattle Seahawks are the only team in the NFL with the same first three letters in both the city and team name. (source) Because of this, it’s undoubtedly one of the more fun names when you take both the city and nickname into account, across the entire National Football League.
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- Despite beginning play for the 1976 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks didn’t win their first playoff game until 1983. (source) The 1983 NFL season marked the first time that the Seahawks advanced in the playoffs. That year, the franchise finished in 2nd place in the AFC West division with a 9-7 record. In the Wild Card Round, the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 31-7, and followed that up with a 27-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they would miss out on a chance to play in the Super Bowl, when they were defeated by the Raiders 30-14 in the AFC Championship Game.
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- The first Seahawks player to win the NFL MVP Award was Shaun Alexander in 2005. (source) Undoubtedly one of the best Seahawks players in the history of the franchise, Shaun Alexander won the NFL’s MVP Award for his dominance throughout the 2005 NFL season, earning him the honor of being the first Seahawks player ever to be named the MVP. That season, Alexander rushed for 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns. On the back of Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks would advance to the Super Bowl that season, but fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-10. Shaun Alexander played for the Seahawks from 2000-2007, followed by one season with the Washington Redskins in 2008.
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- Steve Largent was the first player that the Seahawks ever traded for. (source) Ahead of Seattle’s inaugural season in 1976, the Seahawks sent an 8th round draft selection to the Houston Oilers for wide receiver Steve Largent. The trade worked out very well for the Seahawks, as Largent would play in Seattle from 1976 to 1989, and during that time was named to the Pro Bowl seven times, had 13,089 receiving yards and 100 touchdown receptions, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
What other fun facts do you have to share about the Seattle Seahawks?
Featured image photo credit: Mike Morris, 2014. Originally found on Wikimedia.org. Image was resized and cropped. Creative Commons 2.0.
