History of Thanksgiving Football Explained

Many of us have experienced the joy of going out to toss the pigskin around before or after a heavy Thanksgiving Day meal. For much of the United States, the tradition of football and Thanksgiving go hand in hand and form special memories around family and the holiday season. But have you ever wondered what the history of Thanksgiving football is?

You are not alone in your curiosity about the relationship between America’s favorite pastime and one of the biggest holidays on our national calendar. There is an extensive NFL Thanksgiving Day history to explore and we will do exactly that here in this article. We’ll cover the history of the Turkey Bowl, as well as topics like the most NFL wins on Thanksgiving, and how to bet on games during this period.

If you’re a football fan and would like to try out something new, check out our guide to the best online sportsbooks in the US and enjoy the best betting platforms available in your state.

• NFL Thanksgiving Day History
• Most NFL Wins on Thanksgiving
• Three NFL games played on Thanksgiving Day

NFL Thanksgiving Day – The History

NFL Thanksgiving Day history is a fascinating one. If you grew up in the States, you are probably aware of the Turkey Bowl concept. A Turkey Bowl is any casual game of football that takes place on Thanksgiving Day or over the weekend following the Thursday holiday. Turkey Bowl games (or Turkey Day Games) are popular at high schools and even some universities. They are also a common pastime in the backyards of many US-American families who head outside to play a bit of football for fun while the main event – the Thanksgiving meal – is prepared.

Fun fact: Did you know that Canada also has its own football tradition on Canadian Thanksgiving, headed by the Canadian Football League? Football is indeed that prevalent in North American traditions. But let’s focus on the NFL’s relationship to the holiday.

When did the history of Thanksgiving football start?

Thanksgiving and football go way back, almost to the beginning of the sport as well as to the beginning of the recognized holiday of Thanksgiving. The first recorded example of a Thanksgiving football match was in 1869 and took place in Philadelphia. Coincidentally, this happened just shortly after what may have been the first intercollegiate football game in the United States. Interestingly, Thanksgiving was also only declared an official holiday in 1863, by then president Abraham Lincoln.

Because of the proximity between the intercollegiate football match and the local teams match that happened in 1869, a relationship formed between Thanksgiving and college football early on. From 1876 through 1881, football teams at Yale and Princeton went head to head in a yearly game on Thanksgiving Day. It became extremely popular, and thus, a tradition was born. In 1882 this game was formalized by college football when a yearly tournament was established in New York City, pitting two top teams against each other for a Thanksgiving championship.

The first American football game played in Europe happened not long after, in 1897. This was also between college students, on Thanksgiving Day. The Thanksgiving football tradition did not only bring the game across the world; it also helped make Thanksgiving popular in the South. Up until the early 1900s, Southerners widely rejected the holiday. Football made it more accessible to them. Thus both traditions strengthened one another: the All American-ness of football and Thanksgiving were cemented more than a hundred years ago!

Thanksgiving Football on High School Campuses

As previously stated, playing football on Thanksgiving is integrally tied up with college football. There have also been many historic Thanksgiving day tournaments involving college teams. There is a similar tradition in high schools across the States. There are examples of this in San Jose, San Francisco, Connecticut, D.C., Michigan, Texas and across many other regions, especially throughout the East Coast.

The tradition has changed slightly throughout the years, though. As football seasons get shorter, fewer rivalry games take place on actual Thanksgiving Day. When they do happen, they typically have early kick off times to accommodate resting and family time for the holiday. Some schools also have fun traditions where the football and cheerleading teams swap roles on the occasion.

Thanksgiving Football History: College Rivalries

Similar to the high school scenario, many colleges celebrate their biggest rivalries on Thanksgiving in special tournaments. The reason for this is the timing of Thanksgiving against the regular season. It allows organizers to pit high-performing teams against each other at the end of the regular college football season. Thus, many famous face-offs have been played year after year on Thanksgiving Day.

There have been some scheduling conflicts throughout the years that have prevented a more regular Thanksgiving Day collegiate tradition. To avoid issues with NFL football schedules, many of the college games now take place on the Friday or Saturday following Thanksgiving Day. NCAA scheduling has also disrupted some of the oldest traditional rivalry games.

Most NFL Wins on Thanksgiving

Finally we get to the story of professional football and Thanksgiving, and boy oh boy, is it a doozy! Professional football has been connected to Thanksgiving games since the 1890s. Since its founding in 1920, the NFL has had a Thanksgiving game every single year. Reading about the history between the holiday and the game, one can understand how this came to be. Imagine proposing a major sporting event on such a large public holiday now! However, because Thanksgiving started around the same time and football even helped to popularize it, the two have always gone hand in hand.

3 NFL Games on Thanksgiving Day

Though the CFL has a doubleheader of Thanksgiving Day games called the Thanksgiving Classic, the NFL has a slightly different approach these days. Instead, you will find three professional games happening on the third Thursday of November each year in the States. Every year, the Dallas Cowboys host a home game, the Detroit Lions host a home game, and a third game happens in the evening with a rotating host team.

Because of the longstanding tradition for the Cowboys and the Lions, these are the two teams with the most NFL wins on Thanksgiving Day. As of 2022, the Lions had a record of 37-43-2. That is 37 wins, 43 losses and 2 ties. Despite the overall losses, the Lions still have the most wins of any NFL team. Of course, they have been playing a Thanksgiving game since 1934, so they have a huge advantage in this record.

The Cowboys follow up second, which is also understandable considering their game goes back to 1966. Their win-loss record is 32-21-1. Out of all of the other division I teams that play on Thanksgiving, the only team that comes relatively close to those numbers is the Chicago Bears with a record of 19-15-2.