Zorn guest speaker at North Idaho Sports Banquet

COEUR d’ALENE — Former Seattle Seahawks great Jim Zorn will be the featured speaker at the 56th annual Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame and North Idaho Sports Banquet presented by Les Schwab on April 14 at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn.

The annual banquet will honor North Idaho high school and college athletes, coaches and teams who excelled in their respective sports during the spring and fall of 2017 and the winter of 2017-18. There will also be an induction ceremony for those elected into the Hall of Fame this year.

Zorn was the starting quarterback for the Seahawks during their inaugural season in 1976 and was the team’s quarterback for eight seasons. He was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1976 when he led the league with a then-rookie record 2,571 passing yards, which also was a record for an expansion team. He also led the NFL with 439 pass attempts that season.

Zorn became only the third player to throw for 10,000 yards during his first four years of the NFL. In 1978, he earned numerous awards, including being named the AFC Player of the Year by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club and first-team all-NFL.

Zorn joins Matt Hasselbeck as the only two Seahawk quarterbacks to throw for 300 yards in back-to-back games. Zorn accomplished the feat twice, once in 1979, and then again in 1981. He was inducted into the Seahawks’ Ring of Honor in 1991.

The left-hander finished his career with 20,122 passing yards and 107 touchdowns.

Following his career with Seattle, he played with Green Bay and Tampa Bay, as well as Winnipeg in the CFL.

After he retired from playing in 1987, Zorn began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Boise State. He then had stops at Utah State and Minnesota, before he joined the Seahawks’ staff in 1997 under coach Dennis Erickson. He was then quarterbacks coach for Detroit for three seasons, and then was named the Seahawks’ quarterback coach where he served for seven seasons.

In 2008, Zorn became head coach for the Washington Redskins and led them to an 8-8 season. He was let go after a 4-12 record his second season. He then served as an assistant coach with Baltimore for a season and Kansas City for two years before he retired in 2012.

Zorn currently resides with his wife, Joy, in Mercer Island, Wash. The couple are active in Medical Teams International and Pro Athletes Outreach.

The Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame was organized to honor those individuals from Idaho who have achieve significant recognition in an area of athletic endeavor, or have made a special contributions to athletics in the state. The high school awards cover both District 1 and 2 in Idaho.

This year’s induction class into the Idaho Hall of Fame will be announced this week. Finalists for the high school and college awards will be announced on March 10.

Tickets for the April 14 banquet can be purchased online at idahoathletichalloffame.org/banquet/ or at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children age 12 and under.