Vikings-Seahawks Have Shared History of Players

The Seattle Seahawks were founded on June 4, 1974 when the NFL announced Seattle would be awarded a franchise that would begin play for the 1976 season. The 1st head coach in club history came from the Vikings- Jack Patera, who was hired on January 3, 1976. Patera served as defensive line coach on Bud Grant’s staff from 1969-75 where he was an architect of the Purple People Eaters line. One Vikings mainstay from the early 1970s, Bob Lurtsema, was part of a Vikings trade in 1976 when WR Ahmad Rashad was acquired from the Seattle for Lurtsema and a 4th-round draft pick. Lurtsema went on to start 25 games in 1976 and ’77 for Seattle as the franchise got off the ground. “It was exciting to be a part of something new like that,” Lurtsema said. A fan favorite, Lurtsema and his Seahawks came back to Minnesota on 11/14/76 and he was welcomed at Met Stadium. “There’s nothing like it in sports when you come back to play against your old team. It’s so much fun to go against your old buddies and see those familiar faces.”

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