This article details the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football franchise. Origins Expansion of the National Football League to twenty-eight teams was an agreed part of the AFL/NFL merger of 1970 and confirmed at the end of that season, but attempts to carry it out did not materialise until after the 1973 season, when it was announced that Tampa would be the first city to get an expansion franchise,<ref>"Owner: Franchise for Tampa"; in St. Petersburg Times; April 24, 1974; p. 1C</ref> at a cost of US$16 million (which even then was considered a “paltry” sum). Part of the reason for the delay was due to uncertainties in a few of the newly integrated teams’ stadiums due to new NFL capacity requirements; both the Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots had stadiums inadequate for the NFL, so that Tampa interests unsuccessfully courted both teams to move to the Tampa Bay area.No byline (March 12, 1970). Pros in Tampa? The Evening Independent. Retrieved from Google Newspapers May 8, 2014. Once Rich and Schaefer Stadiums were built for the Bills and Patriots respectively, the league was stable enough to begin expanding. Originally the proposed Tampa Bay expansion franchise was awarded to Tom McCloskey, a construction company owner from Philadelphia. McCloskey quickly became dissatisfied with the financial arrangement with the NFL, and backed out of the deal a month later. Hugh Culverhouse, a wealthy tax attorney from Jacksonville, who had failed in his bid to buy the Los Angeles Rams due to an unannounced sale to Robert Irsay, instead received the Tampa franchise. A name-the-team contest resulted in the name “Buccaneers”, a reference to the pirates who frequented Florida's Gulf coast during the 17th century, and which was almost immediately shortened to the familiar “Bucs”. The team's first home was Tampa Stadium, which had recently been expanded to seat just over 72,000 fans. John McKay and early frustration (1976–1978) The Buccaneers joined the NFL as members of the AFC West in 1976. The following year, they were moved to the NFC Central, while the other 1976 expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, switched conferences with Tampa Bay and joined the AFC West. This realignment was dictated by the league as part of the 1976 expansion plan, so that both teams could play each other twice and every other NFL franchise once during their first two seasons. Longtime USC coach John McKay was recruited as