By Bob Condotta
The Seattle Times
RENTON — Former owner Paul G. Allen, who oversaw the Seahawks’ rise to three Super Bowl appearances and guided the building of CenturyLink Field to assure the team would stay in Seattle, will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor before Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Seahawks made the announcement Monday afternoon.
Allen will become the 12th member of the Ring of Honor. The induction will be made during a ceremony that will begin at 4:50 p.m. His sister, Jody Allen, who took over as the Chair of the Seahawks and the Trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust following his death, will raise the 12 Flag.
Allen passed away to complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma on Oct. 15, 2018 at the age of 65.
“The Seahawks and the 12s are part of what makes Seattle such an exciting city and fantastic community, and the community and the fans were at the forefront of Paul’s mind when he purchased the Seahawks,” Jody Allen said in a statement released by the team. “This Ring of Honor induction celebrates Paul’s legacy and the impact he made on not only the Seahawks organization, but the entire Pacific Northwest. It is fitting that he is the 12th member of the Ring of Honor. He was the proudest 12 of all.”
Allen purchased the Seahawks in 1997 after Ken Behring attempted to move the team to southern California. Allen then oversaw the passage of a vote that led to the construction of CenturyLink Field, which the team moved into in 2002.
Under his watch the Seahawks also hired high-profile coaches Mike Holmgren and Carroll, with the two leading Seattle to the only three Super Bowl berths in team history — Carroll guiding Seattle to the franchise’s only title following the 2013 season.
Carroll referenced the ceremony on Monday during his regular day-after-game news conference, and in answer to a question spoke of how important Allen was in luring him to Seattle from USC in 2010.
Carroll, coming off one of the most dominant runs in college football history from 2001-09, noted he had had several previous opportunities to take over NFL teams before he accepted Seattle’s offer. Carroll wanted to have full say in football decisions and said he took Allen at his word when the two talked before Carroll was hired.
“I was easily convinced that he meant what he was saying,” Carroll said. “I had not been easily convinced of that in that same discussion with other clubs over the years. And everything he said came true. Everything he stood for was real …
” … it was a very difficult decision to leave where I was coming from but I was really excited about the chance because of the challenge of it all and basically because of his support. I came here because of him. He was the one who said it would be like this. You can have this opportunity. You will be in charge.”
Seattle’s 198 regular-season wins during Allen’s tenure tied for the sixth in the NFL in that span and 13 playoff appearances tied for fourth.
Other members of the Ring of Honor are: former players Steve Largent, Jim Zorn, Dave Brown, Curt Warner, Jacob Green, Kenny Easley, Dave Krieg, Cortez Kennedy, and Walter Jones, former coach Chuck Knox and broadcaster Pete Gross.
The team announced that the Ring of Honor members, or representatives, will take part in the ceremony for Allen.
