Meet the Seahawks A seahawk is a powerful quick and clever bird Football fans Seattle Seahawks take the field they win with strength speed and intelligence in Washington know all about those qualities When the The Seahawks have had many great players over the years but they are not a team of superstars Everyone on the roster from the starters to the role players works equally hard to prepare for each game When the Seahawks win they win as a team When they lose they learn lessons that make the team better This book tells the story of the Seahawks Sports fans in Seattle are among the best in the nation They support the team through thick and thin and they cheer for plays that people in other cities might not notice The Seahawks love this about their fans That’s why they give everything they’ve got every time they take the field The Seahawks defense keeps an eye on the clock They are ready for every game situation 5
Glory Days D uring the 1940s and 1950s the population of Seattle grew very quickly During the 1960s and 1970s the city became a center for people of different cultures and a place for international business The people of Seattle were proud of the progress they had made The only thing missing was a team in the National Football League NFL In 1972 the city began construction on a new stadium called the Kingdome Two years later the NFL awarded Seattle one of two new teams for the 1976 season The Seahawks got to work on building their roster They selected unwanted players from other NFL teams discovered college stars in the draft and also 6
held tryouts Seattle’s main goal was to find a good quarterback who could lead the team The man who won the job rolled into town in a broken down Volkswagen Beetle His name was Jim Zorn and he had a strong left arm and quick feet He would need them with the Seahawks In Seattle’s early years Zorn often found himself scrambling away from defenders His favorite target was Steve Largent a small receiver with good hands and great determination He would go on to be the first Seahawk voted into the Hall of Fame Zorn and Largent gave Seattle a dangerous passing attack Running back Sherman Smith rounded out the offense The defense however was another matter The Seahawks allowed more than 30 points a game in their first season and finished with a record of 2 12 Over the next few seasons Seattle’s defense improved and the team began to show signs that it could be a championship contender In the 1980s the Seahawks added three new stars safety Kenny Easley pass-rusher Jacob Green and running back LEFT Jim Zorn and Steve Largent ABOVE Kenny Easley 7
