History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the NFL in 1976, when they joined the Seattle Seahawks as the 27th and 28th franchises in the NFL, respectively. Tampa Bay became the second Florida team in the NFL after the Miami Dolphins. The NFL’s popularity increased in the 1960s, and continued to rise throughout the 1970s, leading the football league to expand.
In 1974, a list of potential expansion cities included Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Honolulu, Phoenix, Memphis, Tampa, and Seattle. Interestingly, several of the cities would later acquire NFL teams through expansion or relocation. Meanwhile, the USFL and XFL would find a home in Memphis.
Tampa was selected as the 27th NFL city before an owner was found. Hugh Culverhouse would take the reins of the franchise, as $16 million was paid as the expansion fee, a record at the time.
Culverhouse was a well-known tax lawyer and broker in Florida. He was initially lauded for helping to bring an NFL team to the Florida city. However, throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, Culverhouse became a lightning rod for fan criticism due to the team’s poor performances from season to season.
The NFL’s Worst Team
Tampa Bay’s first-ever head coach was John McKay. The coach was successful at the University of Southern California, where he won four NCAA National Championships in 16 years. It was hoped that McKay could transition into the professional ranks.
Interestingly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an NFC team today, but in their debut campaign, the team played in the AFC West. The Seattle Seahawks played in the NFC West that season. The teams switched places at the end of the 1976 campaign, with the Bucs remaining in the conference to this day.
Season one did not go as planned for the expansion team, as Tampa went 0-14. While the team was poor throughout the season, McKay was in rare form. The head coach became known for his incredible quotes, with one zinger after another. One of his most entertaining quotes came during a press conference after another defeat: "Well, we didn't block, but we made up for it by not tackling.”
The Bucs lost their opening 26 games in the NFL, but season two saw the Bucs finally win a game. Tampa won 33-14 against the New Orleans Saints and followed it up with a 17-7 win over the St Louis Cardinals. The second season in Tampa ended 2-12. Life was about to change for the Bucs.
Success Comes to Tampa
The wins continued for McKay and company, as the team improved over the next two seasons. In 1979, the Bucs experienced their first winning season, going 10-6 in the new 16-game schedule. Tampa made the playoffs for the first time after winning the NFC Central.
The team won its first NFC playoff game, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-17 in the Divisional Round before dropping to defeat against The LA Rams 9-0 in the NFC Championship Game.
The 1980s were more bust than boom for the Bucs. After making the playoffs in 1981 and 1982, the franchise did not have a winning record for the rest of the decade.
The 1990s didn’t start well either, with Tampa failing to post a .500 or better record from 1990 to 1996. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Bucs were an afterthought in the NFL. The franchise made no impact on fans outside the Tampa area, and many fans in the city had stopped paying attention.
A Change in Fortunes
In 1995, the Glazer family bought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise. Culverhouse had died in 1994 from cancer, and the team’s future in Florida was in danger. Peter Angelos wanted to buy the Bucs and relocate the team to Baltimore. However, the city feared losing the Bucs and worked to keep them in town.
One of the changes the Bucs saw following the Glazer’s purchase was a change of uniforms. The team had worn light orange and white while sporting a winking pirate (Bucco Bruce) logo on their helmets since day No 1. The team made a drastic change, altering their colors to white, red, black, and pewter. The team also changed its helmet logos to a more menacing, classic pirate style.
The team wanted to move away from the miserable seasons of the 1980s and 1990s, and the change in colors, uniforms, and logo gave the franchise a new start. Before changing uniforms, Tampa Bay had a record of 64-159 with double-digit loss seasons in 13 of the 14 campaigns. Twelve consecutive seasons from 1983 to 1994 finished with double-digit defeats.
The change worked, and the Bucs made the playoffs in 1997 after finishing the regular season 10-6. Tampa made the playoffs in five of their first six seasons wearing the new colors. In 2002, the Bucs reached the Super Bowl for the first time, winning the big game 48-21 against the Oakland Raiders.
Recent Ups and Downs
After winning Super Bowl XXXVII, the Bucs went into a period of poor performance. Between 2003 and 2019, Tampa made the playoffs just two times.
In 2014, the Bucs altered their uniforms and logo once more, but it was more subtle than the previous change. Despite the change, it wasn’t until Tom Brady arrived in 2020 that the team’s fortunes changed once more.
Brady led Tampa Bay to an 11-5 record and their first playoff appearance in 13 seasons. Tampa Bay went on to win Super Bowl LV, thrashing the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. In the two subsequent seasons following Brady’s arrival, the Bucs made the NFC playoffs, showing the franchise is back amongst the elite teams in the NFL.
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