GIG HARBOR, Wash. — Peninsula High School claims to be the original home of the Seahawks mascot in Western Washington.
The school says that it has used the name for nearly three decades before the professional Seattle Seahawks were founded.
Ross Filkins, the athletic director at Peninsula High since 1995, where the Seahawks name has been a staple of the school identity for nearly 80 years.
Filkins says that the school tradition comes before the professional NFL franchise in Seattle.
“We’ve been bringing home the fish since 1947 and doing it proudly,” Filkins said.
He noted that the school football program operates under the motto “11 as 1,” which parallels the Seattle Seahawks “12 as one” branding.
The history of the mascot is complicated by Anacortes High School, which has also used the name since the 1920s.
According to Filkins, Anacortes may have been the first to use the name, though it was originally formatted as two separate words. “They go all the way back, I believe, to 1925; however, they started off as the Sea Hawks,” Filkins said. “So somewhere along the way they became the Seahawks.”
Because Peninsula High School adopted the single-word Seahawks name in 1947, Filkins argues the school has a technical claim to the original title.
He acknowledged that the overlap between the two schools creates historical complexity. “But we started off as the Seahawks in ’47,” Filkins said. “So, there is a little bit of an Asterix and gray area in there.”
Two seahawks, named Nacho and Tina, reside on the Peninsula High campus.
Filkins noted that the birds are frequently seen by students and faculty near the athletic facilities.
“How many high schools are there that actually have the mascot living on campus?” Filkins said. “You look up at that northwest light post out there, and they are up there.”
The Peninsula High School community will join fans across the region to watch the NFL Seattle Seahawks play in the Super Bowl this Sunday.
“We are all proud of the Seahawks, and we are really happy to represent and watch them go on Sunday,” Filkins said.