The Seattle Seahawks, a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington, have had a long and interesting history with their mascots. The team's first mascot, Blitz, was introduced in the late 1990s. Blitz is an anthropomorphic Seahawk with a muscular physique and a determined look on his face. He is known for his high energy and enthusiastic personality, often seen entertaining the crowd during games. In 2004, the team introduced a second mascot named Taima. Taima is a live Augur hawk and is the only live mascot in the entire NFL.

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This history of the "Original Seahawks," the Anacortes High School Sea Hawks, who adopted the nickname in 1925, 50 years before Seattle's NFL franchise was named the Seahawks, was inspired by a research request that Eric Sundblad (A.H.S. 1963) made at the Anacortes Museum. It was written by Bret Lunsford (A.H.S. 1981), Anacortes Museum Education Curator, and appeared in a limited extra edition of Anacortes Magazine in October 2013. It is reprinted here with permission.

The First Seahawk Team

Everywhere you look there's a Seahawk: on TV, newspapers, hats, hoodies, and foam fingers. The most famous "Seahawks" are obviously Seattle's football team, which selected their NFL moniker by public vote in 1975. But fifty years earlier, the student body of Anacortes High School took its own vote and selected Sea Hawks as our school nickname in February of 1925, making the Anacortes Seahawks the "Original Seahawks" in Washington, the United States of America, and probably the first Seahawk team name in the world!

What is a Seahawk? Strictly speaking, there's no such thing, in zoological terms. The osprey carries the nicknames Seahawk and Fish Eagle because its talons are uniquely adapted to catching and carrying fish -- making it the ideal mascot for a fishing town like Anacortes. For A.H.S. students, initially "Seahawk" had less to do with birds than with cinematic pirates; meanwhile real fish pirates and rum-runners were active in the local waters before, during, and after the Prohibition era.

What brought the name to the public's attention was a best-selling pirate novel by Raphael Sabatini, published in 1915. His book, called The Sea Hawk, was about a 16th century Cornish gentleman who is betrayed by his brother but later escapes from enslavement to become the pirate "Sakr-el-Bahr" or the Hawk of the Sea. This novel was made into a silent film released on June 14, 1924. Within seven months of the film debut of The Sea Hawk, the name had been adopted by the students of Anacortes High School for its athletic teams.

The February 5, 1925, edition of the A.H.S. newspaper, The Anacortes Skyrocket, contained an editorial simply headlined "A Name:"

"Have you ever thought that the A.H.S. teams should have a name? The school has come to the place where such a thing is necessary. There are the Bulldogs, Cougars, and Tigers; so it remains for the A.H.S. to complete the list with a distinctive name of its own. We favor the name "Sea Hawks," because it suggests speed, strength, certainty, and fighting spirit."

This was the beginning of the Anacortes Seahawks, which eventually also became the name of the student newspaper. The school colors -- purple and white -- actually preceded the Sea Hawk name.

Sea Hawk Fever

The student association took rapid action, weeding out such names as the Codfish, White Mules, Hill Billies, and the Rum Runners to establish Sea Hawks as the official A.H.S. nickname, which appeared in print for the first time in the February 12, 1925, article about the boys' basketball team's game against the Bulldogs of Mt. Vernon. This was the first recorded use of the Sea Hawks in reference to an A.H.S. team. Throughout the rest of 1925 it was used sporadically, and sometimes spelled Seahawks. Nothing was reported on how the name was finally selected, but presumably by a vote of the student association. Did the Skyrocket activists stop after the Seahawk nickname success? Not in the Roaring Twenties; they began their own stadium campaign, lobbying for a gymnasium, so that A.H.S. teams could play on campus rather than the Elks' (now City Hall) basement.

Sea Hawk fever had taken hold by 1926, and the yearbook declared the "Sea Hawk Number" with a Sea Hawk and pirate theme throughout. All sports teams are referred to as Sea Hawks in the 1926 annual, which has remained the Rhododendron since its inception in 1910. The name of the Anacortes High School newspaper is another story; it was named The Anchor in 1915, The Sky Rocket in 1919, and The Sea Hawk by 1928. Another name change occurred when the High School Store (located at 17th Street & K Avenue) became known as the Seahawk Haven and later the Seahawk Store, operated for decades by the Atterberry family.

Branding was a bit slower back then; it took a few years for the Seahawk emblem to arrive on jerseys and sweaters, notably on those of the Knight Hawks service club, which was "on guard against any dead beats who might try to enter without paying the admission price." A standout of the Knight Hawks and Seahawks was future hall of fame coach Richard "Boots" Wooten, whose family's local roots in the Samish Indian Nation extend to time immemorial.

Wallie Funk, Anacortes's renowned historian (and A.H.S. Yell King in 1941) recollected that Langford White had something to do with suggesting "Sea Hawk" for a nickname. White was a 1925 A.H.S. graduate who was also on the Skyrocket staff and the A.H.S. basketball team. Of the other original Sea Hawks, Iver Moe became a labor activist during the Great Depression, Jerry Burich fished commercially, and Lennart Anderson had a limited run as a pro wrestler.

Naming Seattle's Seahawks

At least one Anacortes resident played a role in the naming of the Seattle Seahawks; among the 151 people who suggested the winning name in 1975 was Deane Brazas, whose father, Alphonse, was a teammate of Boots Wooten in the early days of the Anacortes Seahawks.

"'In addition to a framed certificate signed by the owners, I received a personalized book about the history of the team,' said Anacortes resident Deane Brazas. He e-mailed seattlepi.com and shared his story. 'In addition, I received two tickets to a preseason game every year until Paul Allen bought the team'" (seattlepi.com, January 17, 2013).

The name Seahawk has been treated reverently in Seattle for decades, and in Anacortes for fifty years prior. But both team's monikers were hatched in a nest of flippancy. A list of names rejected for our NFL team included Abominable Snowmen, Nibblers, and Rain-Dears; two names that were near-misses for both Anacortes and Seattle: the Flounders and the Crabs.

This essay is part of HistoryLink's People's History collection. People's Histories include personal memoirs and reminiscences, letters and other historical documents, interviews and oral histories, reprints from historical and current publications, original essays, commentary and interpretation, and expressions of personal opinion, many of which have been submitted by our visitors. They have not been verified by HistoryLink.org and do not necessarily represent its views.

The NFL Logo Embraced by the Indigenous People Who Inspired It

In a sports world fraught with controversial mascots, the Seattle Seahawks logo isn’t just accepted — it’s beloved.

There is no such thing as a seahawk.

This may come as a surprise to some Seattle football fans who, while dialed into this weekend’s NFL draft, may be unaware of the origin of their home team’s logo. Some might even assume that, as an Indigenous design, it falls under the banner of “problematic” logos, like those of a handful of other sports franchises, such as the Atlanta Braves or the Kansas City Chiefs.

But unlike those teams, whose logos are founded on stereotypes (as opposed to any specific aspect of one of Native America’s 574 federally recognized tribes) the Seattle Seahawks’s logo is that rarest of birds: a culturally accurate sports icon directly inspired from an Indigenous masterpiece — and embraced by the Indigenous People it is borrowed from.

Anatomy of a logo

Ornithology experts theorize the term seahawk refers to a combination of an osprey, which is a bird of prey native to coastal North America, and a skua, which, in the Pacific Northwest, we normally call a seagull. So if there isn’t an actual “seahawk” found in nature, then where did the inspiration for the Seattle Seahawks’s logo come from?

The Seattle Seahawks logo in 2005. Small changes have been made over the years, but the logo is much the same today as it was when it debuted in 1976. Credit: Duncan McAlynn / Flickr

The general consensus is that in 1976 the NFL commissioned a logo for the newly formed Seattle football team. Then-General Manager Ted Thompson wanted the Seahawks’s logo to reflect “Northwest Indian culture.” He and his team of concept designers must have been Native culture enthusiasts who stumbled across a truly remarkable piece of Indigenous Northwest Coastal art. That artwork in question was a Kwakwaka’wakw (pronounced: KWA-kwuh-kyuh-wakw), a transformation mask from northeastern Vancouver Island.

Exquisitely hand carved from the finest local wood, it’s easy to imagine the team of contracted designers becoming infatuated with the ceremonial mask depicting a mighty eagle with bold black and red formline accents unique to the traditional Coast Salish region. In its closed form, the eagle appears to be in motion with its wings spread, as if it’s ready to soar.

Carved in the late 19th century, the Indigenous mask that inspired the Seahawks logo remained a mystery for years. Photo courtesy Tulalip News

According to curators at Seattle’s Burke Museum, long before the Seahawks took the field at the old Kingdome, this hand-carved mask played an important role among the Kwakwaka’wakw people. Transformation masks represented rights owned by individual leaders, often depicting family origin stories or an ancestor’s supernatural encounters. When this mask is danced in ceremony, a pivotal moment in the song calls for the mask to be opened, revealing a stunning human face inside.

Carved in the late 19th century, the mask was purchased by the Fred Harvey Company before 1910 and later came into the collection of the German painter Max Ernst. Ernst, Picasso and other Surrealist artists were fascinated by the aesthetic power of Northwest Coast masks, which they saw as direct expressions of human instinct and unconscious thought. After Ernst’s death in 1976, the mask was acquired by a private collector. Eventually the privately held art collection came to be displayed publicly, but always in its open position — meaning its likeness to the Seahawks logo was hidden from view.

In September 2014, the Burke Museum, located on the University of Washington campus, learned of the mask’s whereabouts and launched an online fundraising campaign to bring it back to the Northwest Coast. It didn’t take long to raise the money needed to conserve, insure and ship the mask across the country. Within weeks of arrival the hidden history of the mask was unveiled and the origin story of the Seahawks logo went public.

While the details behind the origin story of the Seahawks’s logo remained a mystery for decades, what has always been certain is its positive celebration by local Coast Salish tribes. All along the Salish Sea, tribal people have embraced the Seahawks logo and re-appropriated it into our culture.

A train on Amtrak’s Cascades route sports the Seahawks logo. Credit: Washington State Dept. of Transportation

“Great things inspire imitations. In the same way that so many Native people and white people and Asians are inspired by hip-hop, an artform created by Black people, many people are inspired by our beautiful art,” says attorney and Seattle resident Gyasi Ross (Blackfeet). “Native people have some beautiful artwork, and of course it inspires people to want a piece of it. The Seahawks logo is a perfect example of that. And we love it.”

“But also, the Seahawks are actually active and respectful of the huge Native community here in the Pacific Northwest,” he adds. “From speaking at graduations to speaking out against the [Washington] Redskins mascot, the Seahawks have a great relationship with the Native community here, both urban and Reservation-based.”

A team that uplifts

Their commitment to Native communities is what distinguishes the Seahawks from so many other organizations that claim to honor Native culture with their logos and mascots, yet contribute little or nothing to their local tribes. The Seahawks have a history of making significant impact to the Tulalip Tribes in particular.

Back in 2008, Seahawk Bobby Engram collaborated with Home Depot, the Kaboom! Program, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County to build a 50-by-50-foot playground at the reservation’s ‘Club.’ In 2014, following a shooting at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School, the Seahawks hosted tribal member Nate Hatch, who was shot and survived, along with his family at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field), where they received the VIP treatment from players and coaching staff.

History of the Seattle Seahawks Logo

Football fans instantly recognize the stylized bird and blue colors of the Seattle Seahawks logo. The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl in 2014, and that gave even more people the chance to wonder what that bird was.

Taima is a live Augur hawk and is the only live mascot in the entire NFL. He is trained and cared for by a falconer and is a symbol of the team's connection to the Pacific Northwest and its native wildlife. Taima often makes appearances at home games, flying around the field before kickoff and during halftime.

How the Team Started

In 1974, the city of Seattle received word that it would soon host its own professional football team. The announcement came as part of a series of expansions that followed the 1970 merger of the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL).

In 2014, the team unveiled a third mascot, Boom. Boom is a costumed character who represents the team's energized fan base known as the "12s." He has a fanatical and over-the-top personality, leading the crowd in chants and cheering on the team. Boom is depicted as a large blue bird with a feathery mohawk and a fierce expression. The mascots of the Seattle Seahawks play an important role in creating an exciting and engaging game day experience for fans. They help to build team spirit and connect the fans with the players and the overall atmosphere of the game. From the first mascot Blitz to the live hawk Taima and the enthusiastic Boom, the mascots of the Seattle Seahawks have become beloved symbols of the team and its rich history..

Reviews for "The Evolution of the Seahawks Mascot Costume Design"

- John Doe - 1 star

I was very disappointed with the "Seattle Seahawks Mascot History" book. The content was not engaging at all and it felt more like a Wikipedia page than an actual book. The writing was dry and lacked any sort of passion or excitement. The pictures included were also subpar and didn't add much value to the book. Overall, I found it to be a very boring read and would not recommend it to any Seahawks fans looking for an interesting history of their team's mascots.

- Jane Smith - 2 stars

As a hardcore Seattle Seahawks fan, I was really looking forward to learning more about the history of our beloved mascots. However, this book fell short of my expectations. While it provided some basic information about the different mascots over the years, it lacked depth and didn't delve into any interesting anecdotes or behind-the-scenes stories. The writing style was dry and almost clinical, making it a struggle to stay engaged with the book. I was really hoping for a more comprehensive and captivating read, but unfortunately, this book didn't deliver.

- Mike Johnson - 2 stars

I have to say, "Seattle Seahawks Mascot History" was quite disappointing. The book lacked proper organization and the writing felt disjointed. It felt like a collection of random facts and trivia rather than a cohesive history. Additionally, the lack of proper editing was evident with numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the book. While I appreciate the effort put into compiling the information, I was left wanting more substance and a smoother reading experience. This book could benefit from a thorough revision and reorganization to make it more enjoyable for readers.

From Feathered Friends to Blitz: Exploring the Seattle Seahawks Mascot Heritage