Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks entered the NFL as an expansion team along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1976.  By Seattle's third season, the Seahawks posted a winning record which they repeated in 1979.  The 1980s featured more winning ways with several playoff appearances for the Seahawks.  The team advanced to the AFC championship for the first time in 1983 and claimed its first division title in 1988. 

When the Seattle Seahawks took the field for the first time in the 1976 season, it marked the culmination of a quest for a National Football League franchise that had its roots in the Pacific Northwest metropolis as early as 1957. That is when discussion first began about the possibilities of constructing a domed stadium that would assure a major league sports franchise for the city. On June 4, 1974, the NFL awarded its 28th franchise to Seattle to play in the 64,984-seat Kingdome.

The future of the Seahawks in the Pacific Northwest was secured after Paul Allen purchased the team in 1997 and two years later hired Mike Holmgren as their head coach. In 2005, the Seahawks won the NFC West with a 13-3 record and claimed the NFC championship to earn their first-ever Super Bowl berth.

Source: Pro Football Hall of Fame