Carver Memories – Ken Sager becomes first WWU athlete to play in NFL regular-season game
Member of Seattle Seahawk replacement team in 1987

BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- On Oct. 4, 1987, Ken Sager became the first athlete from Western Washington University to compete in a National Football League regular-season game, starting for the Seattle Seahawks in a victory over Miami.
 
Sager, a 6-foot-4, 228-pound tight end played in two more contests before his NFL career, one that he had never envisioned, came to an abrupt end.

The three games Sager participated in were as part of the Seattle Seahawks replacement team put together after the NFL Player's Union went on strike following a Monday Night game on Sept. 21.
 
Unlike the 1982 walkout where the season had just stopped, the owners in 1987 decided to field teams with whatever players they could get and keep the campaign going.
 
Sager, who had been a four-year starter in football at Western, was completing his degree and playing for the Skagit Valley Raiders of the semi-pro Northwest Football Alliance (NFA) when he signed a contract with Seattle for the duration of the NFL players strike.

Before 19,448 fans at the Kingdome (the Seahawks were regularly drawing capacity crowds of over 61,000 at the time) Seattle played perhaps the most exciting game of the strike on Oct. 4, rallying for a dramatic 24-20 victory over Miami. Sager provided a key block on a short run for the winning   touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
 
"If this is the NFL, I'm loving it," said Sager, who was in on approximately 15 plays, in a Bellingham Herald article. "Coming from a small town and a small school and getting to put on a Seahawk helmet and having fans watch you play, it's great."
 
Earlier in the day, Sager and his teammates had a police escort to get through the picket line set up by striking Seahawks and their supporters.
 
"We'd heard there were a lot of people behind us, but we'd also been hearing a lot of negative stuff, Sager said in a Skagit Valley Herald story. "On the way in, we were getting a lot of thumbs up."
 
Ken Sager

Seahawk Coach Chuck Knox was so overwhelmed by the gutsy performance of his replacement players that he rewarded each one of them with a   game ball. They had come together in just 10 days after the players' union went on strike and one week of the season had been canceled.

"We'll have 53 game balls for 53 battlers," Knox told a Seattle Times reporter after the game. "The thing I appreciate about these kids is the effort and excitement they put into it, to have the desire to hit, to scrap, run and battle."
 
After that win, Seattle suffered a 17-10 home loss to Cincinnati with 31,739 in attendance, before rebounding with a 37-14 triumph at Detroit before 8,310 fans.
 
With the replacement team going 2-1, the Seahawks finished 9-6 and grabbed a wild-card playoff berth in the American Football Conference.
 
"Those games counted toward our regular-season record for our chance to get into the playoffs," said then Seattle wide receiver Steve Largent, now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "We wouldn't have gotten into the playoffs without those two wins, so you could say they (replacements) helped make our season."
 
The 23-year-old Sager, who wore jersey No.89 for the Seahawks, was in his fifth year at Western, completing a degree in visual communication education with interest in advertising and graphics.
 
Sager was brought to Seattle's attention by Michael Highsmith, general manager of the NFA's Auburn Panthers. That led to an unexpected phone call asking him to try out as a replacement player.
 
Seahawks' tight ends coach Russ Purnell began throwing him some balls and he was offered a contract.
 
Following his three-game pro career, Sager received some further interest by the Seahawks, but was told he would have to add 30 pounds to get a tryout the next season. He decided to forego that.
 
Instead Sager graduated from Western in the spring of 1989, married his college sweetheart, Becky Owen, later that summer, and began his career as a graphic artist.
 
Sager started his vocation at Grizzly Imports in Bellingham. In 1994, he moved to Sidney, Neb., to work in the corporate office for Cabela's, followed by nine years at Musician's Friend in Medford, Ore., before returning to Sidney and Cabela's in 2013.
 
Ken and Becky had three children: Katie, a Portland State University graduate who is getting married this summer; Jake, who is graduating from Indiana State this spring with a degree in unmanned systems (drone technology) with a minor in criminal justice after receiving a full scholarship to play football; and Ellie, who is currently attending Sidney High School.
 
Sager Success
 
At Western, Sager was an all-star tight end his last two seasons after starting at offensive tackle for the Vikings as a freshman and sophomore. He was a first-team tight end on the school's All-Century (1900-1999) unit announced in 2000.
 
As a senior at WWU in 1985, Sager was an honorable mention National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American and first-team Little All-Northwest choice as he made a school-record 53 catches for 465 yards and two touchdowns. He also was a first-team Columbia Football League North Division all-star, ranking third among the league's receivers with an 8.8 yards per catch average.
 
"I don't believe he dropped a ball as a senior," said Sager's father Dennis, who along with wife Jean attended all his games.
 
Sager had 39 receptions for 434 yards and four touchdowns as a junior, earning first-team NAIA District 1 all-star honors, and second-team Little All-Northwest and all-Evergreen Conference accolades.
 
A graduate of Goldendale High School, Sager was a Class A all-State choice on defense as a senior and a Yakima Valley League all-star on both offense (fullback) and defense (linebacker). He received an invitation to play in the East-West Senior All-Star game.
 
Sager also was an all-state pick in basketball, helping the Timberwolves to three straight state tournament appearances. And he earned four letters in baseball (first baseman) and track (javelin) at GHS.
 
Though recruited by Oregon State and Washington, Sager decided to attend Western and joined the football team as a walk-on.
 
"Part of the reason I think he didn't play Division I was because he was an immediate results type of person," said Becky Sager in a recent interview. "He was so gifted athletically. (His teammate) Jeff Mills told me that in watching him, he was literally head and shoulders over the division that he was playing in. But Ken told me that he was impatient, and he wanted to play, and he wanted to play right now. And he didn't want to sit and wait."
 
"He selected Western and he loved it up there," added father Dennis.
 
"The teams he played on for the Vikings were very enthusiastic," said Becky. "The players had a great time with one another and there was huge comradery. Ken always felt that they were part of a brotherhood."
 
Family And Heartbreak
 
Ken was born on Oct. 15, 1963, in Spokane. The Sagers lived in Woodsfield, Ohio, before moving to Goldendale when Ken was in the sixth grade. There he grew up on a small farm of 70 acres. His father, Dennis, was an engineer for an aluminum company, and mother Jean an elementary school teacher.
 
"It was a different era and a different place," said Dennis of Goldendale. "A great place to raise your kids."
 
Ken was the eldest of four brothers, the others being Jon, Chris and Jeff. Jon, who played baseball at Puget Sound, was the quarterback and Ken, a fullback, as upperclassmen at Goldendale High.
 
At 30 years of age, Sager was requiring hospital attention every time he caught a cold or had virtually any type of illness. Following numerous trips to the Mayo Clinic and other hospitals, he was diagnosed with an immune deficiency.
 
Sager took infusions to combat the condition, and things went well until the insurance company said the infusions were no longer medically necessary.
 
"But within a month he caught the flu in November of 2014 and in December went into respiratory failure," said Becky. "He was intubated and airlifted to a larger hospital. Within days, the staff had him up and walking. I remember being stunned at Ken's strength and determination to stand up and walk to and from the nurses' station outside his room. He fought for another two years to live, right up to the end when the palliative care doctor asked him his goals, he said, 'I want to get out of here and go hunting and fishing.' 
 
Sager passed away at 53 on Nov. 2, 2016.
 
"It is a tragic irony that a man so athletically gifted could be diagnosed with an immune deficiency that would slowly kill him," Becky said. "From the outside, he looked so healthy but his athletic training helped him persevere. He rarely complained about the pain but he regretted how his condition slowed him down. One of Ken's favorite quotes from Indiana Jones served him well throughout this time, 'It's not the age, it's the mileage,' he would say wryly but with a twinkle in his eyes." 
 
The Call
 
It was in late September of 1987 that Sager heard from the Seahawks. He and Becky, then his girlfriend, and roommate Dan Kallicott were hanging out at his apartment. They had just returned from Alaska after working that summer with Ken's brother Jon on a fish-processing barge.
 
"I remember the call from the Seahawks," said Becky. "Dan answered the phone and his face just changed, and Ken and I noticed and stopped talking. We looked at him, and he kind of turned pale almost and he handed the phone to Ken, saying, 'It's for you. It's the Seahawks.'"
 
"And it was like the air got sucked out of the room, and Ken, true to his personality, stayed real calm and said, 'Hello, okay, sure, sounds good,' you know, that kind of conversation. He hung up, turned around and just kind of grinned at us. Of course, Dan and I just practically leaped on him, 'What'd he say?' And he replied, 'They want me to come down and try out.' We all just started dancing and screaming. We just couldn't believe it.

And immediately Ken called his folks and from there it was like absolutely, you go tryout. So he did and he made it."
 
Becky recalled Ken being impressed with the Seahawks on how professional everything was and how big everything was. His name was on everything - jersey, bags and locker; and everything was matching and color coordinated. The players didn't have to pay for anything and the travel accommodations were all first-class.
 
"And he made friends with some of the guys right away, which was par for the course with Ken to get to know people right away," said Becky.


 
Seahawks' Starter
 
Sager started in Seattle's first replacement game against Miami. There were five lead changes and two ties in the contest. Trailing by three points, 20-17, with less than seven minutes to play, the Seahawks executed a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive that culminated on a one-yard scoring burst with 1:33 remaining for a 24-20 victory.
 
"I went to that game with my parents and we screamed our guts out," said Becky. "It was the very first professional football game that I had attended. It was the first time that I had been in the Kingdome. It was so exciting, and then to see him (Sager) down there and to see his name. And then to see him start."
 
"And afterward the pictures in the Seattle Times. There's a very clear photo (above) of all the guys after the game and they're all touching helmets and Sager was the only jersey that you can read the name on. His was the block that made that last touchdown happen.
 
"Man did he have a good time (as a Seahawk). He was so excited … I remember him calling me from training camp during some rare free time and he just was enjoying it so much … And for the rest of his life, on his resume' he put that he had played for the Seattle Seahawks and Chuck Knox.
 
"His best friend Sean Gleason at Ken's Memorial told the story of them sitting side by side on the couch looking at the paycheck that came from the Seahawks and being absolutely boggled by how much money it was. We were poor little college students at the time, we didn't have a lot."

Sager was paid $16K a week, a total of $48K. That would be around $110K in 2018.


 
The Dream Ends
 
After three weeks the strike ended, and while two of the replacement players were retained by the Seahawks, the careers of all the others ended abruptly.
 
"That was kind of a shock," said Becky. "Ken returned to college for spring quarter after sitting out fall and winter quarters."
 
"It was a jarring experience going from professional athlete to then you're done. He spoke to many people about his options and what he should do. We talked about it. I encouraged him to finish school, but play if he wanted to. They (Seahawks) told him that he was too small, that he needed to gain 30 pounds in order to just tryout again.
 
"So, I don't know if it was part of his immediate results thing, but I don't think he regretted it so much because he never actually said, 'I wish I had.' I never remember him saying that. I think he took it as the opportunity that it was and moved on from there."
 
Sager's Favorite NFL Team
 
While the Seahawks provided the thrill of a lifetime for Sager, Seattle was not his favorite team. That distinction belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
 
As Ken would say, only half-kidding, "The Seahawks was a job, the Steelers were my passion."
 
Sager's affinity for the Steelers began at an early age when the family lived in Woodsfield, Ohio.
 
"(His father) Dennis would take the boys to Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh to see the Steelers play," said mother Jean. "It was true love from then on for Ken. He attended every game that he could and had jerseys, hats, socks, every piece of Steeler clothing you could imagine. He had a Steeler wristband that he wore till the day he died."
 
Some of Sager's favorite Steelers were Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swan, "Mean" Joe Greene and the Steel Curtain defense.
 
Jean recalled, "After watching a game on (television) Sunday, Ken and Jon, 10 and eight at the time, would head outside and start playing football. In high school, Jon was the quarterback and Ken the fullback. It was a ton of fun when a touchdown would be made from Sager to Sager. Those were the days!"
 
While Pittsburgh was Ken's team of choice, younger brother Jon (by 23 months) rooted just as hard for Miami. So it put Jon in a tough spot, as the two were virtually inseparable while growing up, when Ken's first game as a Seahawk was against the Dolphins.
 
"That was the very first time that I had ever seen Miami live and, of course, Ken had to be playing against them," said Jon. "I told him that 'You do know that I'm rooting against you.' And he said, 'Of course you are. I wasn't expecting anything less.' And I did. 'But Ken made the key block at the end of the game for the Seahawks on the winning touchdown. It was great to see him in a Seahawks' uniform."
 
First Date

How did that first date in March of 1985 come about for Ken and Becky?

One of the ways Becky helped pay for her education at Western was with a work-study position in the Viking football office. There she got to know the coaches and players.
 
"Actually it was (Assistant) Coach (Garth) Warren who encouraged me to ask Ken out," recalled Becky. "Because he knew Ken and thought so highly of Ken."
 
Becky asked Ken to accompany her to get some ice cream and from that first "date" their relationship grew.
 
"Becky was extremely sharp and there weren't too many people that could catch her eye," said Warren. "She was extraordinarily gifted, had an incredible work ethic and clearly loved people and loved life … just like Ken. She carried herself with such a joy-filled confidence, that it is not surprising that she invited him to ice cream."
 
"Ken was the real deal," said Warren. "He always had a smile on his face and being in his presence was influential for me and for our entire team. Everyone respected and admired him for the ways he enthusiastically embraced life. He was grounded in a great family and was very committed to friends and family. He was so unassuming, yet always eager to contribute, and you knew he was going to give you his very best. His 'best' showed up on the field, in relationships, and in the classroom and it was clear to me that he would show up with his best for the entirety of his life.
 
"During those years, we didn't win a lot of games and I recall reading a quote that stated: 'How a man wins a game shows some of his character, but how he loses a game shows all of his character.' After one particularly tough loss and witnessing how hard Ken worked the following week in practice, I shared that quote with him and said, 'You have a ton of character.' He flashed his big smile, and said, 'Thanks Coach, that means a lot.'"
 
What did Warren think of Sager the player?
 
"He had an unbelievable set of hands. In all honesty, as a coaching staff, we'd sit in meetings marveling at how he ended up at Western. We truly felt he could easily be playing at a Division I school, but we were sure thankful he was at WWU."
 
An interesting side note is that one of Sager's best friends and teammates at Western was Jeff Mills, who has gone on to coach football collegiately for 30 years and is currently the defensive coordinator at Houston Baptist. As an assistant at Indiana State, Mills recruited Sager's son Jake to play for the Sycamores.
 
"Ken Sager played on a different level athletically as a Viking," said Mills. "His statistics and play spoke for themselves. He truly was a DI level player. But most importantly, he was a great example who we all looked up to on the football field. The way he worked and the way he competed. The thing I appreciated most was that he was such a tremendous teammate and friend off the field during my years at Western. He was humble and fun to be around. Ken could always make us smile and laugh."
 
"After recruiting his son Jake to Indiana State, I was able to see Ken again and to experience first-hand his great love for Becky and his family.  
 
"He was so courageous in his battle."

 
                The Sager Family - Fall 2014: (L-R) Ken, wife Becky, daughter Ellie, son Jake and daughter Katie

Closing Thoughts
 
From (wife) Becky:
 
"Ken was my best friend, a loving and thoughtful husband and the best present I have ever had or will ever have. I told him often that there could never be a holiday better than being married to him because being with him was like Christmas morning. He was my playmate, protector and biggest cheerleader. He let me be me, supported my career and dreams and was the love of my life. 

"Ken was a kind, generous, understanding and involved father. He was ready to have children before I did because, having a brother 18 years younger than he, Ken knew the joys of children, understood the commitment in raising children and was eager to express his boundless love for them, even before they were born. He was quick with a joke when they were cranky and slow to anger when they pushed him but he always held the bottom line. He was a coach to all three children and they relished his teaching and attention and blossomed under his care. 

"He loved new adventures, exploring the world and would often drive past untraveled roads and say, 'I wonder where that road goes...' He's on an adventure without us right now but, before he died, he looked me right in the eyes and said clearly and with conviction, 'I will see you again.' 
 
 "I know I will." 
 
 From (mother) Jean:
 
"Dennis and I were so lucky to have four wonderful boys. Kenneth, Jon, Chris and Jeff. One of our greatest joys was the love the brothers shared. They loved each other, needed one another, depended on one another and had a lot of fun together.
 
"Kenneth was the oldest and they all looked up to him. He was a great role model. Ken was charming, was extremely witty, a good writer, and a natural athlete.
 
"Our Ken was a good son, a good man, and a good person who always put others before himself.  
 
"Losing Kenneth at this early age has been heart breaking and something we will not recover from. He is missed so very much, but he is in our hearts, thoughts and memories each and every day."
 
From (father) Dennis:
 
"Kenneth was always a delightful child from birth to a young 53 years old. Children, no matter what their age should never go before their parents. I will always love him and miss him for the rest of my life. Kenneth's passing never gets easier and never will."
 
From (brother) Jon:
 
"He was my best friend and I was his. He was the best man at my wedding, and I was the best man at his. Growing up, we did everything together … We grew up together and took care of one another. There was never any animosity or fights. Disagreements sure, but we were never angry with one another. We were always friends."
 
 The Letter (located on last page of Ken's Seahawks Scrapbook put together by his mother)
 
Dear Ken,
 
How can I ever tell you the pleasure and excitement we experienced having you play for the Seahawks and the NFL!! Dad, myself, Jon, Chris and Jeff all had the ultimate high enjoying your success. Dad actually had you written up in the plant's newsletter. I became, "Ken's mom," no longer Jean Sager. Jon risked his brand new car and never really said too much about the infamous scratch (in Kingdome parking lot). Chris had his friends scraping to see who got to go to the Kingdome with us. Jeff even sat nicely through your games.
 
We all thoroughly enjoyed having such a "SuperStar" among our midsts.
 
Please continue to have such successes during your lifetime so we can ride along on your star.
 
We all love you,
 
Your Family (Dad, Mom, Jon, Chris, Jeffrey)
 
Written by Paul Madison who served 48 years as sports information director at WWU from 1966 to 2015. He is in his fourth year as the school's athletics historian.
 
 
Seahawks picked to reach Super Bowl going into 1987 season
 
The Seattle Seahawks began the 1987 campaign with high aspirations, being picked by Sports Illustrated to reach the Super Bowl.
 
The Seahawks had won their last five games of 1986 to finish 10-6, defeating both of that season's Super Bowl participants - Denver and the New York Giants.
 
 Then in June, Seattle beat 37-1 odds to win the lottery and the right to take Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth in a supplemental draft. At the time, that appeared to be the ultimate coup for an extremely talented team.
 
 Seattle opened the 1987 season by splitting its first two games. Then the NFL player's strike began following the Monday Night game on Sept. 21.
 
 Unlike in 1982 when the season had just stopped, the owners in 1987 decided to field teams with whatever players they could get and keep the games going.
 
Seahawk safety Ken Easley, the team's player representative, discouraged former Seattle quarterback Jim Zorn, who had been out of the league for two years, from crossing the picket line. Zorn instead played one game with Tampa Bay.
 
But as teams began playing games with replacement players that counted in the standings, some veterans grew antsy.
 
By the time that the second replacement game had been played with little sign of a thaw in the league's stance, many big names began crossing. Seattle went 1-1 in those first two contests.

As the Wednesday of the third replacement player game approached, five Seahawks crossed – wide receiver State Largent, quarterback Jeff Kemp, offensive center Blair Bush, placekicker Norm Johnson, and linebacker Fredd Young.
 
On Sunday, Oct. 15, the strike ended after 24 days. But the NFL decided that only players who had reported by Wednesday at 1 p.m. could play in that week's games.
 
That Sunday in front of 8,310 spectators in Detroit, playing against mostly replacement players, Largent caught 15 passes for 261 yards from Kemp in 2-1/2 quarters before asking to come out of an eventual 37-14 victory. The figures are single-game records that remain to this day.
 
Seattle won four of five games after the strike, then lost a memorable Monday Night game to Oakland that turned its season around. The Seahawks finished 9-6 and lost a wild-card game against Houston in overtime.
 
Replacement Parts
 
The 1987 season brought a little bit of everything for the Seahawks.

A return to the playoffs after a two-season hiatus.
 
 A club-record 15-catch, 261-yard performance by Steve Largent.
 
 A quintet of Pro Bowl selections – strong safety Kenny Easley, defensive end Jacob Green, running back Curt Warner, linebacker Fredd Young and Largent – which is still tied for the third-largest contingent in club history.
 
 A rookie class that included the linebacking trio of Brian Bosworth, Tony Woods and Dave Wyman, as well as cornerback Dwayne Harper. Oh yes, and a 24-day players' strike that cost the team one game and forced it to play three others with replacement players. "The strike was a real bummer for us as a team," Largent, the MVP and leading receiver on that '87 team, said recently. "We had real high aspirations for that year, and the strike took away from the momentum that we had."
 
Momentum generated by a 10-6 record in 1986 and a 43-14 romp over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 of the '87 season, just before the strike began.
 
For the Seahawks, the strike was notable for three reasons.
 
First, coach Chuck Knox remained loyal to his real players until the 11th hour and 59th second, leaving the Seahawks to scramble in assembling their replacement team. Quarterback Bruce Mathison wasn't signed until the week of the Oct. 4 replacement opener against the Miami Dolphins at the Kingdome. The fullback, Mike Hagan, was a member of Power International, a Bellevue-based ministry. Hagan's power trait was blowing up a hot-water bottle until it burst. The roster also included a nightclub bouncer, guard Ron Scoggins a former Redmond High School and University of Washington lineman, Garth Thomas, who they tracked down while on a hunting trip in Alaska, a wide receiver; Jimmy Teal, who – like Mathison – would be signed to the real roster after the strike ended and another wide receiver, Curtis Pardridge, who they coaxed away from an interview for a stockbroker job in Florida.
 
"This is the most trying season I've been through," Knox said after his 15th season as a head coach in the NFL and fifth with the Seahawks. "Because of the strike, it was a very, very trying season."
 
Second, Largent, backup quarterback Jeff Kemp, center Blair Bush, linebacker Fredd Young and kicker Norm Johnson crossed the picket line just before the strike ended – and just in time to play in the final replacement game against the Detroit Lions at the Silverdome. It was in that game that Largent caught 15 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns before Knox finally relented and lifted the future Hall of Famer in the third quarter after he caught three passes in a TD drive to open the second half that made it 37-7.
 
"I actually went to (GM) Mike McCormack at that time the strike started and said, 'Mike, I feel committed to this team, and feel committed to the contract that I signed with you to play. I don't feel like I've got any room to be out with my teammates on strike,'" Largent recalled. "Mike told me, 'Steve, we want you to keep the team together. We want you to not come in.'
 
"But that last week, it looked like they were going to get a deal done. So I went in on Tuesday, just before the deadline to play that week."
 
Finally, and most importantly in the grand scheme of things, the replacement team going 2-1 helped the Seahawks finish 9-6 to grab a wild-card playoff berth in the AFC.
 
"Those games counted toward our regular-season record for our chance to get into the playoffs," Largent said. "We wouldn't have gotten into the playoffs without those two wins, so you could say they helped make our season."
 
And oh what a season it was, in part because it proved to be the final season in a Seahawks uniform for Easley and Young. While Young was traded to the Indianapolis Colts during the 1988 offseason for two first-round draft choices that became tackle Andy Heck (1989) and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy (1990), Easley's trade to the Phoenix Cardinals fell through when the kidney condition that would end his career was detected during his physical.

Young led the '87 team in tackles for the third consecutive season and was voted to the Pro Bowl for the fourth year in a row – the second as a linebacker, after going as a special teams player in 1984 and 1985. Easley had four interceptions to pace the '87 defense and was voted to his fifth Pro Bowl.
 
Leave to quotatious guard Bryan Millard to offer the definitive line on Young: "I'd rather sandpaper a bobcat's butt in a phone booth than be tackled by Fredd."
 
Largent was voted the team MVP after a 58-catch, 912-yard, eight-TD season, as well as to his seventh – and final – Pro Bowl. The '87 season also was the 12th – and final time – Largent would lead the Seahawks in receptions. Curt Warner produced 985 yards and eight touchdowns, while running behind a line of Ron Mattes, Edwin Bailey, Bush, Millard and Mike Wilson as the Seahawks averaged 134.9 rushing yards. Versatile fullback John L. Williams had another diversely productive season with 500 yards rushing and another 420 on 38 receptions.
 
Darryl Rogers, the coach of the Lions, out Millard-ed Millard after the 37-14 loss to the Seahawks in the final replacement game. Asked why he had not double-teamed Largent, Rogers offered, "Why embarrass two players, when you can embarrass only one."
 
On defense, Young had nine sacks among his team-leading 99 tackles – half-a-sack less than Green. Bosworth had the best of his three injury-interrupted seasons with 78 tackles and four sacks, and played his best game in the 23-20 overtime loss to the Oilers in Houston in the wild-card playoff game by producing 17 tackles. In his second season as the starting free safety, Eugene Robinson had 69 tackles and three interceptions.
 
But the strike took its toll on the Tom Catlin-coordinated defense, especially the young players, as the Seahawks emerged from the strike to allow an average of 430 yards in the final six games.
 
On special teams, Bobby Joe Edmonds had a better average returning punts (12.6) than he did during his Pro Bowl season in 1986 (12.3), but his average on kickoff returns dipped to 20.9 (down from 22.5 in '86).
 
And Johnson kicked his way to 85 points to lead the team in scoring for the sixth consecutive season.
 
The '87 season also included the infamous game against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Kingdome on "Monday Night Football," when Bo Jackson ran away from Bosworth – and up the tunnel – on a 91-yard TD run and then treated the Seahawks' rookie like a speed bump on a 2-yard scoring run as the Raiders romped 37-14 and Jackson rolled up 221 yards.
 
Also of note during the strike-interrupted season: A 28-21 win against the Denver Broncos at the Kingdome in Week 14, as Krieg threw TD passes to Ray Butler (two) and Williams and the defense intercepted John Elway twice and sacked him four times, the Seahawks clinching a playoff berth with a 34-21 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Week 15, as Williams scored a 75-yard TD off a screen pass and the defense contributed five turnovers and Largent moved past Charlie Joiner as the NFL's all-time leading receiver by catching the 751st pass of his career the following week in a 41-20 loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City.
 
The night-and-day close to the regular season prompted Largent to say at the time, "It's funny how you can go from being a good team for two weeks to a poor team the next week. Jekyll and Hyde, that is this team. We are all those things."
 
And the Seahawks continued to be all those things in the playoff loss to the Warren Moon-quarterbacked Oilers. The game featured a 12-yard TD pass from Krieg to Largent for the tying score with less than 30 seconds left in regulation, capping a 10-play, 80-yard drive that saw Krieg pass to Largent for 10 yards on fourth-and-10 and to Butler for 32 yards on third-and-10. But it also included an interception by Young in overtime that was ruled an incomplete pass, which allowed Tony Zendejas to kick a 32-yard field for the game-winner.
 
While the loss at the Astrodome put an end to the strangest of the Seahawks' first 12 seasons, it might have established the mindset for what was to come in 1988: The Seahawks' first division title.
 
As Millard said after the loss to the Oilers, "I want to keep in mind that sour taste of losing and come back next July with a firm jaw, a wrinkled brow and an attitude of 'Get the hell out of our way.'"
 
Presented by Paul Madison who served 48 years as sports information director at WWU from 1966 to 2015. He is now in his fourth year as the school's Athletics Historian.