Seattle Sports

Franchise History

Seattle Sports

Franchise History

Teams / Seattle

Seattle's sports history began at the start of the 20th century with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA)'s Seattle Metropolitans, which in 1917 became the first American hockey team to win the Stanley Cup. Seattle's sports history continues today with the city's eight major professional teams: the National Football League (NFL)'s Seattle Seahawks, Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Seattle Mariners, Major League Soccer (MLS)'s Seattle Sounders FC, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Seattle Storm, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)'s OL Reign, Major League Rugby (MLR)'s Seattle Seawolves, the XFL's Seattle Dragons, and the future National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken. Seattle also boasts a strong history in collegiate sports, with two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I schools: the University of Washington and Seattle University, and one NCAA Division II school, Seattle Pacific University. In 1977, following years of legal wrangling over the move of the Seattle Pilots to Milwaukee (to become the Milwaukee Brewers), the MLB awarded Seattle a new baseball franchise, the Seattle Mariners. From 1977 the Mariners played in the Kingdome until mid-season 1999 when the team moved across the street to what is now known as T-Mobile Park, where they continue to play today. The WNBA's Seattle Storm arrived in Seattle in 2000, and played at KeyArena through the 2018 season. With the arena being closed until at least 2020 for major renovations, the Storm currently play at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett and at Alaska Airlines Arena on the University of Washington campus. In 2013, Seattle's professional women's soccer team OL Reign, including several members of the World Cup winning US women's national team, opened their first season as Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League at Starfire Sports Complex and played at Memorial Stadium in Seattle Center through 2018. Starting in the 2019 NWSL season, the rebranded Reign FC began play on their new home pitch at Tacoma's Cheney Stadium. During the 2019–20 offseason, the parent company of prominent French club Olympique Lyonnais bought a majority stake in Reign FC, and soon rebranded the side yet again as OL Reign.

Seattle's sports history began at the start of the 20th century with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA)'s Seattle Metropolitans, which in 1917 became the first American hockey team to win the Stanley Cup. Seattle's sports history continues today with the city's eight major professional teams: the National Football League (NFL)'s Seattle Seahawks, Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Seattle Mariners, Major League Soccer (MLS)'s Seattle Sounders FC, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Seattle Storm, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)'s OL Reign, Major League Rugby (MLR)'s Seattle Seawolves, the XFL's Seattle Dragons, and the future National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken. Seattle also boasts a strong history in collegiate sports, with two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I schools: the University of Washington and Seattle University, and one NCAA Division II school, Seattle Pacific University. In 1977, following years of legal wrangling over the move of the Seattle Pilots to Milwaukee (to become the Milwaukee Brewers), the MLB awarded Seattle a new baseball franchise, the Seattle Mariners. From 1977 the Mariners played in the Kingdome until mid-season 1999 when the team moved across the street to what is now known as T-Mobile Park, where they continue to play today. The WNBA's Seattle Storm arrived in Seattle in 2000, and played at KeyArena through the 2018 season. With the arena being closed until at least 2020 for major renovations, the Storm currently play at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett and at Alaska Airlines Arena on the University of Washington campus. In 2013, Seattle's professional women's soccer team OL Reign, including several members of the World Cup winning US women's national team, opened their first season as Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League at Starfire Sports Complex and played at Memorial Stadium in Seattle Center through 2018. Starting in the 2019 NWSL season, the rebranded Reign FC began play on their new home pitch at Tacoma's Cheney Stadium. During the 2019–20 offseason, the parent company of prominent French club Olympique Lyonnais bought a majority stake in Reign FC, and soon rebranded the side yet again as OL Reign.

Seattle Mariners

⚾ MLB: 1977-2020 44

Joined the American League as an expansion team to begin the 1977 season.

Seattle Seahawks

🏈 NFL: 1976-2020 45 1

Defunct Teams

Teams that have folded or moved away from the Seattle area.

F i l t e r & S o r t

Seattle SuperSonics

🏀 NBA: 1968-2008 41 1

⚾ MLB: 1969-1969 1

Joined the American League as an expansion team to begin the 1969 season. Left Seattle and relocated to Milwaukee to begin the 1970 season. Moved to the National League in 1998 in order to faciliate MLB divisional realignment.

Seattle Metropolitans

PCHA: 1916-1924 9 3

Spokane Canaries

PCHA: 1917-1917 1

Vancouver Millionaires

PCHA: 1912-1912 1

The early history of sports contains hundreds of teams that appeared for only 1 or 2 seasons before folding. Most of these teams have no historical photographs or articles, so are omitted from this list to reduce clutter. To view a comprehensive list of all defunct teams, browse to the early leagues section for baseball, football, basketball, or hockey.

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