The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team organized in 1976 and based in Seattle, Washington, US, that plays in the National Football League. This article details the history of the Seattle Seahawks American football club. Overview As one of the agreed parts of the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger, the NFL began planning to expand from 26 to 28 teams. Ralph Wilson was the first to propose a team for Seattle; due to the decrepit stadium situation at War Memorial Stadium and the reluctance of Buffalo, New York officials to replace it In 1971, he openly threatened to move his team, the Buffalo Bills, to Seattle. Buffalo officials acquiesced and built what is now Highmark Stadium, in 1973, keeping the Bills in Buffalo, where they remain. Pro Football Hall of Famer Hugh McElhenny, a Seattle resident and University of Washington alumnus, signed a contract with a group called the Seattle Sea Lions in hopes of bringing an NFL franchise to the city. In anticipation, he named himself general manager of the non-existent "Seattle Kings" in May 1972, and the next year the franchise gained the backing of Edward Nixon, brother of president Richard Nixon. However, McElhenny's plan ultimately fell through. On June 15, 1972 Seattle Professional Football Inc., a group of Seattle business and community leaders started by Herman Sarkowsky and Ned Skinner, announced its intention to acquire an NFL franchise for Seattle. Almost 2 years later 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. Nordstrom died of a heart attack 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 yet-unnamed team. The nickname Seahawks was selected on June 17, 1975 after a public naming contest which drew more than 20,000 entries and over 1,700 different names. 151 people had submitted the name in the list such as Clark McMillan and Hazel Cooke (who each received a framed piece of literature for their efforts). Five names were selected as finalists: Sockeyes, Mariners, Olympics, Evergreens, and Seahawks. Nordstrom and his group telephoned Rozelle and Jim Kensil (league executive director) for a response on