Food, family, and football. It’s a trio so natural it seems elementary.
But there is nothing simple about the history of football on Thanksgiving in America.
When did the NFL start playing games on Thanksgiving? That question and more are answered in this exploration into one of America’s best traditions.
Who Played in the NFL’s First Thanksgiving Day Game?
Football is king of the American sports landscape now, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, it was a tactic to grow the sport’s popularity that led to the dawn of the NFL’s modern Thanksgiving Day football tradition.
In 1934, George A. Richards purchased a football team named the Portsmouth Spartans. He moved the club to Detroit, a town enamored with the Tigers’ baseball team at the time, and changed their nickname to the Lions.
Looking to challenge the Tigers for attention, Richards came up with the idea to schedule a game on Thanksgiving and to schedule it against the team that had won the previous championship — the Chicago Bears.
Detroit defeated Chicago 19-10 in a game played at the University of Detroit Stadium, and from that point on, NFL football on Thanksgiving became a tradition.
Thanksgiving Football Before 1934
There is a well-documented history of pro and college football being played on Thanksgiving that dates back to before 1934. In fact, back to the late 1800s.
Yale and Princeton once had a tradition of playing one another on Thanksgiving. The University of Michigan also played 19 times from 1885-1905. Two professional teams in Chicago — the Bears and the Cardinals — played one another from 1922-33 until the Bears engaged with the Lions annually from 1934-38. The Cardinals faced the Packers on Thanksgiving in 1934 and 1935.
World War II put a pause to the NFL’s Thanksgiving custom from 1941-1944, but the tradition then resumed with Detroit becoming the only team to host each year.
When Did the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day Tradition Begin?
It was the Lions and Packers who played one another annually on Thanksgiving from 1951-63. Then, three years later, the Dallas Cowboys adopted the practice of hosting a Thanksgiving Day game for many of the same reasons that motivated Richards in Detroit — gaining popularity.
The Cowboys were also intrigued by the potential competitive advantage of hosting a Thanksgiving Day game, considering any opponent would have to prepare for the game on a short week and travel to Dallas for the game.
In 1975 and 1977, the St. Louis Cardinals wrestled away from Dallas the privilege of hosting a Thanksgiving Day game. It was short-lived, though, as the franchise’s lack of appeal and success, especially relative to Dallas, led to the NFL turning back to the Cowboys.
Beginning in 1978, Dallas became a permanent host of Thanksgiving Day football.
When Did the NFL Begin Playing a Third Game on Thanksgiving?
For decades, it was Detroit and Dallas who hosted Thanksgiving Day games. Yet, in 2006, the NFL began holding a third game on Thanksgiving in a prime-time slot.
At first, NFL Network aired the game as part of the Thursday Night Football package. That arrangement ran through 2010 until the NFL awarded the game to NBC as part of the Sunday Night Football package, which is where it currently resides in the NFL’s broadcasting contract with the networks.
Unlike the Thanksgiving Day afternoon contests where Detroit and Dallas are the annual hosts, the prime-time game on NBC carries no designated team or conference as the host, allowing the NFL to schedule any game it wants for the time slot.