Why do the Cowboys and Lions always play on Thanksgiving? A look back at the history

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(Editor’s note: This story originally ran in 2020.)

If you’re clicking on this on Thanksgiving, I’m imagining it’s from your recliner after you had one too many slices of pumpkin pie as you’re settling in to watch an afternoon of NFL action. Suddenly, it hits you as you’re watching two mediocre teams playing on Turkey Day: why do the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys ALWAYS play on Thanksgiving?

Let’s go back in time for the answer as to when this all started and see if we can figure out why this is still the case.

When did Thanksgiving games start in the first place?

According to Princeton University, Princeton and Yale played each other in football in 1876, and the game would become a tradition until 1893. When professional football sprouted up in the early 20th century, Thanksgiving games did as well.

OK, can we get to the Lions and —

The Pro Football Hall of Fame lists Thanksgiving games starting in 1920 between teams including the Decatur Staleys and Chicago Tigers and the Dayton Triangles and Detroit Heralds.

Thanks for the history lesson but the tryptophan is kicking in …

Fine, fine. In 1934, Detroit Lions owner George Richards decided a good way to market his team was to play on Thanksgiving. He also agreed to allow NBC’s radio station network to broadcast that first game between the Lions and Chicago Bears. He had hit on something, per the Hall of Fame:

The 26,000 tickets for the Turkey Day clash in the University of Detroit Stadium, were sold out two weeks in advance of the game. It was estimated that another 25,000 would have attended had there been seats available.

They did it again next year and the year after that, and thus a tradition was born.

How bout them Cowboys?

I see what you did there. Dallas owner Tex Schramm, too, wanted some national attention, so he volunteered his team to play. The NFL was concerned about how many tickets the Cowboys could sell that day, but the same thing that happened with the Lions: after the league got a guarantee of minimum ticket revenue, the Cowboys had a reported 80,000-plus fans show up to watch them play the Cleveland Browns.

So why is this STILL a tradition? Why not let other teams play?

Regarding that second one: they do now! There was a third game added in 2006 that allows other teams to rotate in and play.

As for the first? I haven’t found a definitive answer, so here’s an educated guess: with the Lions — who are under .500 on Thanksgiving Day — it’s tradition. And the NFL likes tradition, even if it’s a terrible franchise that can’t seem to get it right year after year playing on a national holiday.

The Cowboys are a different story. The idea that they’re “America’s Team” seems long gone, but the fact is that they’re a big national draw to begin with. We watch what is sometimes a powerful offense steamroll an opposing team, or with some schadenfreude if they’re terrible.