The NFL began playing football on Thanksgiving during their first season in 1920.The most important of the half dozen games played that day, November 25, 1920, was played between the Akron Pros with Hall of Famer Fritz Pollard and the Canton Bulldogs, the Pros won  7-0 in Akron all but clinching the NFL’s first championship with the victory.

The Detroit Lions began their tradition of Thanksgiving games in 1934 with a 19-16 loss to the Chicago Bears. The Lions have played every Thanksgiving Day since then with the exception of 1939 and 1940 when the Steelers and Eagles played and during World War II when the league decided against playing on Thanksgiving. They resumed playing on Thanksgiving in1945 with a 28-21 loss to the eventual NFL champion Cleveland Rams. The Lions are 32-34-2 on Turkey Day.

2008 has not been kind to the 0-11 Lions and this Thursday will more than likely prove to be another daunting task when they host the Titans.  This game marks the second Thanksgiving game that the Lions have played while winless.

The first was 2001, they entered that game against the Packers at 0-9, and finished the day 0-10, as Brett Favre beat them 29-27, although Lions’ rookie quarterback Mike McMahon almost pulled off the victory with a valiant effort. They would eventually win 2 games later that season, one against the Vikings and another against the Cowboys on the last day of the regular season to finish 2-14.

After the Titans this week, the Lions will face the Vikings and Saints at home and the Colts and Packers on the road. They have a realistic chance to be the first 0-16 team.

But that is now and this was then…

Dialing it back in time again, the rival American Football League began play in 1960 and they also played one game on Thanksgiving Day. They made a smart move in 1962 when they moved their game to 4:00PM eastern time so they could take advantage of football starved fans when the earlier Lions game would end. The AFL’s wide open style of play drew high ratings, the 1962 Thanksgiving game evidenced this as the New York Titans beat the Denver Broncos 46-45 in Denver, a contrast from the low scoring conservative NFL. Television made the AFL, and by playing later on Thanksgiving with no competition gave them more exposure and thus moved them closer to a merger with the NFL.

The Cowboys began their Thanksgiving tradition in 1966. CBS who broadcasted NFL games wanted a double header and a later game to combat the AFL game on television on Thanksgiving and the Cowboys volunteered. Dallas beat Cleveland 26-14 on November 24, 1966 at the Cotton Bowl.  The win propelled the Cowboys to their first Eastern Conference title in franchise history with a 10-3-1 record.  The Browns finished 9-5 and had the Cowboys not won that game the Browns would have won the conference and earned the right to meet the Packers in the 1966 NFL championship game. The championship game that year carried tremendous importance as the winner would advance to Super Bowl I.

By 1967 both the AFL and NFL were playing 2 games each Thanksgiving and for three seasons before the merger came to be in 1970, football fans had their choice of 2 early and 2 late games, broadcasted by CBS and NBC.  

Dallas has played every Thanksgiving since, but took a break in 1975 and 1977 when the St. Louis Cardinals played host.  The Cardinals would lose both of those games at Busch Stadium, 32-14 to the Bills and 55-14 to the Miami Dolphins. The Cowboys hosted again in 1976 and in 1978 they would begin their current streak on Thanksgiving with a 37-10 win over the Redskins.  The Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day record coming into this Thursday’s game against the Seahawks is 25-14-1.   

Some selected Thanksgiving Day records:

*   indicates an NFL record

Most points scored by a player in a game  

• 40: Ernie Nevers, Chicago Cardinals vs. Chicago Bears, November 28, 1929, he scored six touchdowns and kicked 4 extra points.  

Most yards rushing in a game  

• 273: OJ Simpson Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions, November 25, 1976  

Most yards passing in a game  

• 455:  Troy Aikman Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings, Nov. 26 1998  

Most receptions in a game  

• 12:   Brett Perriman, Detroit Lions vs Minnesota Vikings, November 23, 1995  
• 12:    Marvin Harrison, Colts vs Detroit Lions, November 25, 2004