The Seattle Seahawks

by James R. Rothaus

Born in Cerritos, California, young Zorn had grown up with a football in his hands. Over summer vacation in high school, Jim had spent many a summer day throwing left-handed spirals at a rickety old baseball backstop. "It was good for my footwork," Zorn told Seattle reporters.

Smith 'A Pleasure to Watch'

Source: Seattle PI
By Don Fair

All five quarterbacks had their chance to run the offense during the 51-play scrimmage. Unfortunately, Chris Rowland, the ex-Husky, did not have, for him, a good showing.

He was at the controls for 14 plays, completed two of eight passes for 24 yards, had one intercepted and was "sacked" (although no one was allowed to tackle the QB in the live session) twice.

Then came the other rookie, Steve Myer of New Mexico, who took the second unit on an 11-play, 60-yard drive into the end zone. Myer completed five of nine throws for 51 yards, and ex-Washington Slater Vaughn Williams ran the final seven for the score.

Veteran Neil Graff was four-for-six and 48 yards with one interception. He engineered a 50-yard TD march, capped by Alan Dixon's one-yard plunge.

The other veteran, Gary Keithley, also moved his club 50 yards for a score and the final play was a four-yard pitch to Smith, who neatly caught the ball off a defensive lineman deflect. Keithley was a hot six-for-eight and 93 yards.

Lefthander Jim Zorn finished it off, but failed to put any points on the board, which didn't bother Patera who said, "He did better than anybody in quickness. When the blocking breaks down, it looks as if Zorn can move."

Patera's other QB analyses: "Today was the first practice in which there was any difference between Myer and Rowland. Of course Rowland went first and faces much fresher defensive people. Myer and Keithley appeared to have things more under control than anybody."

Vikings slip past Seahawks 27-21

Minneapolis Tribune
Nov. 15, 1976
By Allan Holbert

Zorn, their 23-year-old quarterback who is playing his first pro season, was intercepted three times, but he completed 17 of 29 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns, one of them an 80-yard play.

As Patera had said earlier, "You'll find we're not just a bunch of pickups playing on a sandlot."

"I don't think we were tackling as well as we're capable of," said Grant, "but you have to attribute a lot of that to their fine running game, and that Zorn is legitimate. We saw him on film and we expected him to be good. I'm just glad his last pass wasn't as accurate as that bomb he threw for the touchdown.

"They have good people. They're well-coached and they played well today, especially their defense."

With three runs by Sherman Smith, Seattle was at the Vikings 12. Zorn scrambled a bit, gave up trying to find a receiver and ran it in himself for his team's first score.

Seattle tied it up again early in the third quarter when Zorn, standing on his own 10-yard line threw to the speedy Steve Raible who beat Nate Allen, caught it on the Vikings 45 and raced, untouched to the end zone.

Early in the fourth quarter, a Neil Clabo punt, partially blocked by Don Dufek, went three yards to give Seattle the ball on the Vikings' 27. Capitalizing quickly on the break, Zorn threw a short pass to McCullum, who went in standing up from 4 yards out.

Street and Smith's Pro Football 1977

The second-leading rusher was Zorn, which should tell you something.

The 6-2 scrambler averaged 246 on his 52 excursions. A scrambler is almost essential for any expansion team, but Coach Patera would like to progress to a more standard operation in '77.

Street and Smith's Pro Football 1978

Seattle will be in business for a long, long time before they sign a more valuable free agent than Jim Zorn or trade more judiciously than they did when they acquired Steve Largent.

Zorn and Largent are the heart of the Seattle team.

Zorn was on the Los Angeles "hide" squad in 1976, when personnel chief Dick Mansperger, who had been with Dallas when Zorn spent a training camp with the Cowboys, signed him as a free agent.

The former Little All-America quarterback from California Polytechnic was the Seahawks' most valuable player in their first season. Last year he threw 16 touchdown passes. In one game against Buffalo he passed for four touchdowns and ran for another as Seattle ran up the highest point total in the NFL for 1977, 56 points.

Zorn is the perfect quarterback for an exp-Ooops! A young team. He can scramble out of trouble.

He didn't run too much last year, just 25 times. But he averaged 5.6 yards a carry when he did. His maneuverability comes in handiest against the pass rush. He was sacked only 12 times, which is incredible for a building offense.

Exhibition game - 1976:

Trailing 17-0 at halftime, Seattle caught fire in the second half behind Zorn, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third. He was dropped at the 49ers' two-yard line on a scrambling play as the gun sounded.

August 23, 1976:

The expansion Seahawks' only touchdown came in the second period when quarterback Jim Zorn hit Bob Picard in traffic for a 14-yard TD that capped a 62-yard drive.

Exhibition game - 1976:

Quarterback Jim Zorn hit tight end Ron Howard with a three-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining and Don Bitterlich booted the extra point to lift the expansion Seattle Seahawks to their first-ever victory, a 17-16 National Football League exhibition win over San Diego Sunday at the Kingdome.

Exhibition game - 1976:

On first down Seattle lost 15 yards when Zorn was called for intentionally grounding the ball. But two plays later he hit Andrew Bolton with a 21-yard pass to the 15 and followed with an 11-yard pass to Sherman Smith at the three. Two plays later he hit Howard, a Pasco native who played basketball at Seattle University, with the TD.

Seahawks Worst Game Ever - November 4, 1979:

This one is here just for laughs! It's one of those Murphy's Law games where absolutely nothing goes right!

Seahawks play the worst game in Kingdome (and National Football League) history on November 4, 1979.

Source: www.historylink.org

The whole idea in football is to gain yardage. The teams take turns running or passing the ball toward a goal line and it usually works, at least a little. But not in this game, not for the Seattle Seahawks.

Playing against the Los Angeles Rams in the Kingdome, the Seahawks were stunningly inept. They set a National Football League record for futility that might never be broken. They gained no yards. In fact, they LOST yards.

How Did This Happen?

Nobody could have seen this coming. The Seahawks were a relatively new NFL team, playing in only their fourth season, but they seemed to be on the rise. The previous Monday night they had scored their biggest victory. Using trick plays and improvisation by their scrambling quarterback, Jim Zorn, the Seahawks came from behind to beat the Atlanta Falcons 31-28. The national television audience couldn't help but be entertained by the plucky underdogs from the Northwest.

The Rams, meanwhile, had lost three straight games and would be playing before a hostile crowd in Seattle's dome. But when they met, everything went right for the Rams and wrong for the Seahawks. One-sided games happen, but this was ridiculous.

No First Downs, No Yards, No Nothing

The Seahawks simply could not move the ball. At halftime the Rams had a 21-0 lead and the Seahawks had no first downs, meaning they weren't able to gain 10 yards in any four-play sequence. The crowd of 62,048 was getting restless and surly.

The Seahawks' first play of the second half was a completed pass from Zorn to Steve Largent, the future Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver and Congressman from Oklahoma. The play gained 11 yards -- good for a first down, a meager accomplishment that would be shown repeatedly that week on Coach Jack Patera's television show.

For Seattle, that was as good as it got. The Seahawks never earned another first down. And they never got closer to the goal line than that, eight yards shy of midfield. The Rams had lost quarterback Pat Haden and running back Wendell Tyler to injuries in the first half, so the second half was an unrelieved display of two offenses that couldn't do much, if anything. The Seahawks at one time got their offensive total up to 23 yards, but the Rams kept tackling Zorn for losses while he was trying to pass. For the last quarter of the game, the only suspense was whether the Seahawks could raise their net yardage into the black.

They couldn't. When time ran out, mercifully, the Rams had a 24-0 victory and the Seahawks had minus-seven yards. It truly was a sub-zero performance, worst by two yards in the league's 57-year history, a stinker for the ages.

Seahawks Top Chargers, 17-9

Washington Post
August 6, 1978

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the San Diego Chargers, 17-9, Friday night on two touchdowns by running back Sherman Smith and four interceptions by the secondary in the exhibition openeer for both teams. Smith rushed from two yards out early in the second quarter to cap a 64-yeard Seattle drive and give the Seahawks a 7-0 lead. Seattle quarterback Jim Zorn hit three of five passes on the drive for 42 yards after Seattle cornerback Dave Brown intercepted Bill Munson's pass. Smith's second touchdown, a 4-yard run with 3:38 remaining, put Seattle in front 17.9. Smith also had runs of 10 and nine yards on the final Seattle intercepted a pass by San Diego's Cliff Olander.

Dan Fouts drove the Chargers 50 yards in 40 seconds to set up Rolf Benirschke's 35-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.

Benirschke also kicked second-half field goals of 22 and 30 yards to account for the rest of the Chargers points.

James Harris of the Chargers connected on passes late in the fourth quarter before fumbling deep in Seattle territory with 1:47 to go. The fumble was recovered by the Seahawks, who ran out the clock.

This Week in Seahawk History:
Sunday, December 3, 1978

Inside the Seahawks
Vol. 1, No. 10
October 10, 1986-October 16, 1986
By Bob Pruitt

It was the first time the Seahawks had a real shot at the play-offs. Earlier in the year, nobody but the Seattle fans could be called believers.

On this particular Sunday, just about everything went right for the Hawks. A young and exciting Jim Zorn riddled the Cleveland secondary for 219 yards on 15 of 24 passing and one touchdown. His effort was complemented by a host of others that day.

On the negative side, Seattle's only healthy center, Art Kuehn was left injured in the first quarter and guard Tom Lynch was forced to snap the ball. Lynch was chosen because he was the only player who had some experience at center-his sophomore year of high school.

As the final moments came to pass, the Kingdome scoreboard read Seahawks 47 - Browns 24, and some 62,000 football-crazy Seahawks fans changed, "Play-offs Play-offs Play-offs!" The 8-6 expansion team was a contender to be treated with respect.

Redskins Rate 4-Point Edge Sunday

September 26, 1980
Source: Jimmy the Greek

The Seattle Seahawks have lost a valuable weapon in running back Sherman Smith, with no quality replacement available. Seattle's Jim Zorn and Washington's Joe Theismann are two of the best young passers in the league.

Seahawks Beat Jets, End Five-Game Losing Streak

News Services, Washington Post
October 26, 1981

Wide receiver Steve Largent ran 10 yards for one score and caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Jim Zorn to help the Seattle Seahawks end a five-game losing streak with a 19-3 upset of the New York Jets today. Largent ran 10 yards around right end for Seattle's first touchdown late in the first half, and gave the Seahawks a 13-0 lead with his scoring catch early in the second half. Sherman Smith also scored for the Seahawks on a four-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Rookies Lead Way in in 32-31 win Over Seahawks

Source: www.raiders.com
November 29, 1981

The Seahawks came right back as an 87-yard march was climaxed by a three-yard rollout run by multi-talented Seattle quarterback Jim Zorn, and at halftime Seattle led 10-3.

The Hawks stretched their lead to 14 points, 17-3, on the opening second half possession, going 80 yards on just six plays, with the big gainer coming on a 51-yard screen pass from Zorn to running back Theotis Brown...on a series of plays, the Raiders took the lead...Jim Zorn brought the Seahawks back immediately but went out with an ankle injury midway in the series, to be replaced by Dave Krieg.

NEW AND IMPROVED / HALF A SEASON INTO EXISTENCE, THE NFL'S NEWEST EXPANSION TEAMS ARE MORE FEARED THAN INTIMIDATED

Source: The News Tribune
Nov 10, 1995
By John Clayton

Seattle Seahawks, 1976 - Steve Largent began his NFL career by catching 54 passes, most of any expansion receiver. Tossing him the ball was Jim Zorn, who threw for 2,571 yards, easily the best among expansion QBs. The result: A respectable team, but just a 2-12 record.

Seahawks 10 Year Anniversary book

In a frenetic 32-31 defeat by the Oakland Raiders, the only quarterback Seahawks fans had ever known, to that point, went down with a broken ankle. Dave Krieg's deportment, leading the Hawks to victory in two of the three remaining games, foretold many a well-lubricated late-night debate over whether Zorn would ever win his old job back.

McCormack endeared himself to Jim Zorn fans by restoring him at quarterback after Patera had used Krieg in two losing games.

With six screws and a metal plate in his mended left ankle, Zorn resembled the unpredictable scrambler that had made him Seattle's favorite professional athlete before his injury. Unfortunately, his completion percentage (51.4) also resembled his expansion years, and the quarterback door once again opened slightly. Krieg appeared in only one of the seven games after the strike, lobbing a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Roger Carr to beat Denver, 13-11, in the Kingdome finale to the truncated season.

Seahawks 10 Year Anniversary book

Seahawk historians will affix an asterisk to the date October 23, 1983. That day, in the Kingdome, the Pittsburgh Steelers led the Seahawks 24-0 at halftime. Before a surly throng of 61,615, Jim Zorn had thrown eight passes and completed one, for two yards, and had two interceptions.

Dave Krieg trotted from the bench, threw touchdown passes to Steve Largent and Paul Johns and engineered a third. Time ran out on a 27-21 defeat.

That was the last starting assignment for Zorn, and the first of 29 straight for Krieg, including 20 victories through 1984.

Pro Football 1976

by Larry Felser and Dave Klein

Had the Seahawks done as well offensively, Atlanta and New Orleans might have filed suit for damages. But they won’t have to, since the offense will be Patera’s major source of headaches.

The quarterbacks are abysmal—Gary Keithely, Neil Graff and rookies Steve Myer of New Mexico, a fourth- round draft choice, and free agent Jim Zorn, either of whom could wind up with the job.

Keithley, who didn’t play a down with the Cards last year, has some potential. Graff played more, but seems shaky. Myer is a fairly well regarded collegian. Southpaw Zorn, a free agent, was the Cowboys’ last cut in 1975.

Seattle captures first win

WT grad Bitterlich aids cause

By United Press International
BUCKS COUNTY COURIER TIMES
August 30, 1976

The Seattle Seahawks are finally winners, and quarterback Jim Zorn says nipping San Diego 17-16 in exhibition play was enough to raise the dead.

"Last week I wanted to bury myself," Zorn said of the expansion team's 52-7 drubbing by Denver. "This week I feel like I came up out of the ground."

It was Zorn's three-yard pass which tight end Ron Howard snagged just off the turf with 13 seconds left and William Tennent High School and Temple University graduate Don Bitterlich's point-after conversion that earned Seattle it first victory Sunday after four losses. Bitterlich also kicked a 30-yard field goal in the game.

San Diego Coach Tommy Prothro was more generous with praise after the embarrassing defeat by an expansion team.

"When they came down to it, they out-gutted us," he said of the Seahawks. "It's hard to tell how good Seattle is, but they did stop us on the goal line better than any team other than San Francisco. Seattle has a good, tough team."

Prothro said there were no serious injuries to the Charger squad, "just hurt feelings."