Throwback Thursday: Thanksgiving Football

Thanksgiving and football have been a wonderful combination pretty much since the ball starting bouncing funny. Thanksgiving football has been a thing in the NFL since the league's inaugural 1920 season. The Detroit Lions made the Thanksgiving Day game their own in 1934. That was their first year in the Motor City and new owner George Richards wanted to bring some attention to his team. He had an extremely talented team, a team that won the NFL title in 1935, and that team started a Thanksgiving Day tradition. Other than a six-year gap from 1939-44, football in Detroit has been an NFL staple on Thanksgiving ever since.

The Dallas Cowboys joined the Thanksgiving show in 1966. Since then, they have missed playing on the holiday only in 1975 and 1977. The NFL muscled a third game into the tradition in 2006.

The All-America Football Conference were professional football rivals of the NFL from 1946-49. The American Football League did the same from 1960-69. Both leagues challenged the established league on the field and on Thanksgiving.

Here are the results of the NFL, AAFC, and AFL games played on Thanksgiving.

Nov. 25, 1920
	AKRON PROS 7, Canton Bulldogs 0
	Decatur Staleys 6, CHICAGO TIGERS 0
	ELYRIA (OH) ATHLETICS* 0, Columbus Panhandles 0
	DAYTON TRIANGLES 28, Detroit Heralds 0
	CHICAGO BOOSTERS* 27, Hammond Pros 0
	All-Tonawanda (NY) 14, ROCHESTER JEFFERSONS 3
* Non-league team. Games between league teams and non-league teams counted in standings in 1920.
Nov. 24, 1921
	Canton Bulldogs 14, AKRON PROS 0
	Buffalo All-Americans 7, CHICAGO STALEYS 6
Nov. 30, 1922
	Buffalo All-Americans 21 ROCHESTER JEFFERSONS 0
	CHICAGO CARDINALS 6, Chicago Bears 0
	RACINE LEGION 3, Milwaukee Badgers 0
	Oorang Indians 18, COLUMBUS PANHANDLES 6
	CANTON BULLDOGS 14, Akron Pros 0
Nov. 29, 1923
	CANTON BULLDOGS 28, Toledo Maroons 0
	CHICAGO BEARS 3, Chicago Cardinals 0
	GREEN BAY PACKERS 19, Hammond Pros 0
	Milwaukee Badgers 16, RACINE LEGION 0
	AKRON PROS 2, Buffalo All-Americans 0
Nov. 27, 1924
	AKRON PROS 22, Buffalo Bisons 0
	Chicago Bears 21, CHICAGO CARDINALS 0
	FRANKFORD YELLOWJACKETS 32, Dayton Triangles 7
	CLEVELAND BULLDOGS 53, Milwaukee Badgers 10 (at Canton, Ohio)
	Green Bay Packers 17, KANSAS CITY BLUES 6
Nov. 26, 1925
	CHICAGO BEARS 0, Chicago Cardinals 0
	Kansas City Cowboys 17, CLEVELAND BULLDOGS 0 (at Hartford, CT)
	Rock Island Independents 6, DETROIT PANTHERS 3
	POTTSVILLE MAROONS 31, Green Bay Packers 0
Nov. 25, 1926
	New York Giants 17, BROOKLYN LIONS 0
	Los Angeles Buccaneers 9, DETROIT PANTHERS 6
	CHICAGO BEARS 0, Chicago Cardinals 0
	FRANKFORD YELLOWJACKETS 20, Green Bay Packers 14
	POTTSVILLE MAROONS 8, Providence Steam Roller 0
	CANTON BULLDOGS 0, Akron Pros 0
Nov. 24, 1927
	Chicago Cardinals 3, CHICAGO BEARS 0
	POTTSVILLE MAROONS 6, Providence Steam Roller 0
	Green Bay Packers 17, FRANKFORD YELLOWJACKETS 9
	Cleveland Bulldogs 30, NEW YORK YANKEES 19
Nov. 29, 1928
	Providence Steam Roller 7, POTTSVILLE MAROONS 0
	DETROIT WOLVERINES 33, Dayton Triangles 0
	FRANKFORD YELLOWJACKETS 2, Green Bay Packers 0
	CHICAGO BEARS 34, Chicago Cardinals 0
Nov. 28, 1929
	New York Giants 21, STATEN ISLAND STAPLETONS 7
	FRANKFORD YELLOWJACKETS 0, Green Bay Packers 0
	Chicago Cardinals 40, CHICAGO BEARS 6 Nov. 27, 1930 STATEN ISLAND STAPLETONS 7, New York Giants 6 BROOKLYN DODGERS 33, Providence Steam Roller 12 Green Bay Packers 25, FRANKFORD YELLOWJACKETS 7 CHICAGO BEARS 6, Chicago Cardinals 0 Nov. 26, 1931 Green Bay Packers 38, PROVIDENCE STEAM ROLLER 7 STATEN ISLAND STAPELETONS 9, New York Giants 6 CHICAGO BEARS 18, Chicago Cardinals 7 Nov. 24, 1932 CHICAGO BEARS 24, Chicago Cardinals 0 Green Bay Packers 7, BROOKLYN DODGERS 0 STATEN ISLAND STAPELETONS 13, New York Giants 13 Nov. 30, 1933 Chicago Bears 22, CHICAGO CARDINALS 6 New York Giants 10, BROOKLYN DODGERS 0 Nov. 29, 1934 CHICAGO CARDINALS 6, Green Bay Packers 0 Chicago Bears 19, DETROIT LIONS 16 New York Giants 27, BROOKLYN DODGERS 0 Nov. 28, 1935 New York Giants 21, BROOKLYN DODGERS 0 CHICAGO CARDINALS 9, Green Bay Packers 7 DETROIT LIONS 14, Chicago Bears 2 Nov. 26, 1936 DETROIT LIONS 13, Chicago Bears 7 New York Giants 14, BROOKLYN DODGERS 0 Nov. 25, 1937 Chicago Bears 13, DETROIT LIONS 0 BROOKLYN DODGERS 13, New York Giants 13 Nov. 24, 1938 DETROIT LIONS 14, Chicago Bears 7 BROOKLYN DODGERS 7, New York Giants 7 Nov. 23, 1939# PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 17, Pittsburgh Steelers 14 Nov. 28, 1940# Pittsburgh Steelers 7, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 0 # In 1939 and 1940, President Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving one week earlier. Various states celebrated on the date declared by the President, while other states recognized the traditional fourth Thursday of the month. In 1941, Thanksgiving was sanctioned by Congress to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November which it has been ever since. Nov. 22, 1945 Cleveland Rams 28, DETROIT LIONS 21 Nov. 28, 1946 Boston Yanks 34, DETROIT LIONS 10 (AAFC) - New York Yankees 21, BROOKLYN DODGERS 7 Nov. 27, 1947 Chicago Bears 34, DETROIT LIONS 14 (AAFC) - San Francisco 49ers 21, BROOKLYN DODGERS 7 (AAFC) - Cleveland Browns 27, LOS ANGELES DONS 17 Nov. 25, 1948 Chicago Cardinals 28, DETROIT LIONS 14 (AAFC) - Cleveland Browns 31, LOS ANGELES DONS 14 (AAFC) - Buffalo Bills 39, CHICAGO ROCKETS 35 Nov. 24, 1949 Chicago Bears 28, DETROIT LIONS 7 (AAFC) - Cleveland Browns 14, CHICAGO HORNETS 6 (AAFC) - Brooklyn-New York Yankees 17, LOS ANGELES DONS 16 Nov. 23, 1950 DETROIT LIONS 49, New York Yanks 14 Pittsburgh Steelers 28, CHICAGO CARDINALS 17 Nov. 22, 1951 DETROIT LIONS 52, Green Bay Packers 35 Nov. 27, 1952 DETROIT LIONS 48, Green Bay Packers 24 DALLAS TEXANS 27, Chicago Bears 23 (at Akron, Ohio) Nov. 26, 1953 DETROIT LIONS 34, Green Bay Packers 15 Nov. 25, 1954 DETROIT LIONS 28, Green Bay Packers 24 Nov. 24, 1955 DETROIT LIONS 24, Green Bay Packers 10 Nov. 22, 1956 Green Bay Packers 24, DETROIT LIONS 20 Nov. 28, 1957 DETROIT LIONS 18, Green Bay Packers 6 Nov. 27, 1958 DETROIT LIONS 24, Green Bay Packers 14 Nov. 26, 1959 Green Bay Packers 24, DETROIT LIONS 17 Nov. 24, 1960 DETROIT LIONS 23, Green Bay Packers 10 (AFL) - New York Titans 41, Dallas Texans 35 Nov. 23, 1961 Green Bay Packers 17, DETROIT LIONS 9 (AFL) - NEW YORK TITANS 21, Buffalo Bills 14 Nov. 22, 1962 DETROIT LIONS 26, Green Bay Packers 14 (AFL) - New York Titans 46, DENVER BRONCOS 45 Nov. 28, 1963 DETROIT LIONS 13, Green Bay Packers 13 (AFL) - Oakland Raiders 26, DENVER BRONCOS 10 Nov. 26, 1964 Chicago Bears 27, DETROIT LIONS 24 (AFL) - Buffalo Bills 27, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 24 Nov. 25, 1965 DETROIT LIONS 24, Baltimore Colts 24 (AFL) - SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 20, Buffalo Bills 20 Nov. 24, 1966 San Francisco 49ers 41, DETROIT LIONS 14 DALLAS COWBOYS 26, Cleveland Browns 14 (AFL) - Buffalo Bills 31, OAKLAND RAIDERS 10 Nov. 23, 1967 Los Angeles Rams 31, DETROIT LIONS 7 DALLAS COWBOYS 46, St. Louis Cardinals 21 (AFL) - Oakland Raiders 44, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 22 (AFL) - SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 24, Denver Broncos 20 Nov. 28, 1968 Philadelphia Eagles 12, DETROIT LIONS 0 DALLAS COWBOYS 29, Washington Redskins 20 (AFL) - OAKLAND RAIDERS 13, Buffalo Bills 10 (AFL) - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 24, Houston Oilers 10 Nov. 27, 1969 Minnesota Vikings 27, DETROIT LIONS 0 DALLAS COWBOYS 24, San Francisco 49ers 24 (AFL) - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 31, Denver Broncos 17 (AFL) - San Diego Chargers 21, HOUSTON OILERS 17 Nov. 26, 1970 DETROIT LIONS 28, Oakland Raiders 14 DALLAS COWBOYS 16, Green Bay Packers 3 Nov. 25, 1971 DETROIT LIONS 32, Kansas City Chiefs 21 DALLAS COWBOYS 28, Los Angeles Rams 21 Nov. 23, 1972 DETROIT LIONS 37, New York Jets 20 San Francisco 49ers 31, DALLAS COWBOYS 10 Nov. 22, 1973 Washington Redskins 20, DETROIT LIONS 0 Miami Dolphins 14, DALLAS COWBOYS 7 Nov. 28, 1974 Denver Broncos 31, DETROIT LIONS 27 DALLAS COWBOYS 24, Washington Redskins 23 Nov. 27, 1975 Los Angeles Rams 20, DETROIT LIONS 0 Buffalo Bills 32, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 14 Nov. 25, 1976 DETROIT LIONS 27, Buffalo Bills 14 DALLAS COWBOYS 19, St. Louis Cardinals 14 Nov. 24, 1977 Chicago Bears 31, DETROIT LIONS 14 Miami Dolphins 55, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 14 Nov. 23, 1978 DETROIT LIONS 17, Denver Broncos 14 DALLAS COWBOYS 37, Washington Redskins 10 Nov. 22, 1979 DETROIT LIONS 20, Chicago Bears 0 Houston Oilers 30, DALLAS COWBOYS 24 Nov. 27, 1980 Chicago Bears 23, DETROIT LIONS 17 (OT) DALLAS COWBOYS 51, Seattle Seahawks 7 Nov. 26, 1981 DETROIT LIONS 27, Kansas City Chiefs 10 DALLAS COWBOYS 10, Chicago Bears 9 Nov. 25, 1982 New York Giants 13, DETROIT LIONS 6 DALLAS COWBOYS 31, Cleveland Browns 14 Nov. 24, 1983 DETROIT LIONS 45, Pittsburgh Steelers 3 DALLAS COWBOYS 35, St. Louis Cardinals 17 Nov. 22, 1984 DETROIT LIONS 31, Green Bay Packers 28 DALLAS COWBOYS 20, New England Patriots 17 Nov. 28, 1985 DETROIT LIONS 31, New York Jets 20 DALLAS COWBOYS 35, St. Louis Cardinals 17 Nov. 27, 1986 Green Bay Packers 44, DETROIT LIONS 40 Seattle Seahawks 31, DALLAS COWBOYS 14 Nov. 26, 1987 Kansas City Chiefs 27, DETROIT LIONS 20 Minnesota Vikings 44, DALLAS COWBOYS 38 (OT) Nov. 24, 1988 Minnesota Vikings 23, DETROIT LIONS 0 Houston Oilers 25, DALLAS COWBOYS 17 Nov. 23, 1989 DETROIT LIONS 13, Cleveland Browns 10 Philadelphia Eagles 27, DALLAS COWBOYS 0 Nov. 22, 1990 DETROIT LIONS 40, Denver Broncos 27 DALLAS COWBOYS 27, Washington Redskins 17 Nov. 28, 1991 DETROIT LIONS 16, Chicago Bears 6 DALLAS COWBOYS 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 10 Nov. 26, 1992 Houston Oilers 24, DETROIT LIONS 21 DALLAS COWBOYS 30, New York Giants 3 Nov. 25, 1993 Chicago Bears 10, DETROIT LIONS 6 Miami Dolphins 16, DALLAS COWBOYS 14 Nov. 24, 1994 DETROIT LIONS 35, Buffalo Bills 21 DALLAS COWBOYS 42, Green Bay Packers 31 Nov. 23, 1995 DETROIT LIONS 44, Minnesota Vikings 38 DALLAS COWBOYS 24, Kansas City Chiefs 12 Nov. 28, 1996 Kansas City Chiefs 28, DETROIT LIONS 24 DALLAS COWBOYS 21, Washington Redskins 10 Nov. 27, 1997 DETROIT LIONS 55, Chicago Bears 20 Tennessee Titans 27, DALLAS COWBOYS 14 Nov. 26, 1998 DETROIT LIONS 19, Pittsburgh Steelers 16 (OT) Minnesota Vikings 46, DALLAS COWBOYS 36 Nov. 25, 1999 DETROIT LIONS 21, Chicago Bears 17 DALLAS COWBOYS 20, Miami Dolphins 0 Nov. 23, 2000 DETROIT LIONS 34, New England Patriots 9 Minnesota Vikings 27, DALLAS COWBOYS 15 Nov. 22, 2001 Green Bay Packers 29, DETROIT LIONS 27 Denver Broncos 26, DALLAS COWBOYS 24 Nov. 28, 2002 New England Patriots 20, DETROIT LIONS 12 DALLAS COWBOYS 27, Washington Redskins 20 Nov. 27, 2003 DETROIT LIONS 22, Green Bay Packers 14 Miami Dolphins 40, DALLAS COWBOYS 21 Nov. 25, 2004 Indianapolis Colts 41, DETROIT LIONS 9 DALLAS COWBOYS 21, Chicago Bears 7 Nov. 24, 2005 Atlanta Falcons 27, DETROIT LIONS 7 Denver Broncos 24, DALLAS COWBOYS 21 (OT) Nov. 23, 2006 Miami Dolphins 27, DETROIT LIONS 10 DALLAS COWBOYS 38, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 19, Denver Broncos 10 Nov. 22, 2007 Green Bay Packers 37, DETROIT LIONS 26 DALLAS COWBOYS 34, New York Jets 3 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 31, Atlanta Falcons 13 Nov. 27, 2008 Tennessee Titans 47, DETROIT LIONS 10 DALLAS COWBOYS 34, Seattle Seahawks 9 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 48, Arizona Cardinals 20 Nov. 26, 2009 Green Bay Packers 34, DETROIT LIONS 12 DALLAS COWBOYS 24, Oakland Raiders 7 DENVER BRONCOS 26, New York Giants 6 Nov. 25, 2010 New England Patriots 45, DETROIT LIONS 24 New Orleans Saints 30, DALLAS COWBOYS 27 NEW YORK JETS 26, Cincinnati Bengals 10 Nov. 24, 2011 Green Bay Packers 27, DETROIT LIONS 15 DALLAS COWBOYS 20, Miami Dolphins 19 BALTIMORE RAVENS 16, San Francisco 49ers 6 Nov. 22, 2012 Houston Texans 34, DETROIT LIONS 31 Washington Redskins 38, DALLAS COWBOYS 31 New England Patriots 49, NEW YORK JETS 19 Nov. 27, 2013 DETROIT LIONS 40, Green Bay Packers 10 DALLAS COWBOYS 31, Oakland Raiders 24 BALTIMORE RAVENS 22, Pittsburgh Steelers 20 Nov. 27, 2014 DETROIT LIONS 34, Chicago Bears 17 Philadelphia Eagles 33, DALLAS COWBOYS 10 Seattle Seahawks 19, SAN FRANCISCO  49ERS 3 Nov. 26, 2015 DETROIT LIONS 45, Philadelphia Eagles 14 Carolina Panthers 33, DALLAS COWBOYS 14 Chicago Bears 17, GREEN BAY PACKERS 13 HOME TEAM IN CAPS (AAFC) - All-America Football Conference, 1946-49 (AFL) - American Football League, 1960-69

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!