Nov 24, 2016

How the Detroit Lions helped the NFL own Thanksgiving

Pro football wasn't always an all-day affair on Thanksgiving.

Nevin Lawson of the Detroit Lions leaves the field after the Lions kicked a game winning field goal to defeat the Minnesota Vikings 16- 3 at Ford Field on November 24, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The National Football League has been playing games on Thanksgiving since 1920. But the Detroit Lions were the first team to really embrace the Thanksgiving day game. They’ve been playing on Turkey Thursday since 1934. And what began as a ploy to fill a stadium on a day when fans didn’t have to go to work , has grown into a full-blown tradition of turkey and pigskin and big money for the NFL.

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How the Detroit Lions helped the NFL own Thanksgiving

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