Federal Way man says he helped name the Seahawks
Jan 9, 2014, 3:30 PM | Updated: 4:16 pm
Second only to the birth of his kids and marriage to his wife, Bruce York says providing the winning name for Seattle’s new NFL team is a huge moment in his family history.
Bruce York, now of Federal Way, told KIRO Radio’s Tom and Curley it was in 1975 he sent a letter to KIRO Radio as part of a contest to name the Seahawks. York was one of 20,000 entrants in the contest which produced more than 1,500 names. He also wasn’t the only one who suggested ‘Seahawks,’ but his name was pulled from the hat.
“I got a letter from KIRO Radio stating that I had won the contest and that when we actually have a team on hand that has tickets available, for me to bring the letter down to the studio and turn it in for two season tickets…which I did.”
How did he come up with the name?
York said he played football (’58-’59) at Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle, whose mascot was the Seahawks. He said it was an obvious choice for him, even though he did send in a couple other options.
“Seattle Steelheads and the Seattle Chinooks, but not many people knew what a Chinook was, so I didn’t think that would go.”
Self-proclaimed Papa Seahawk said he was a Seahawk long before the Seahawks were cool.