NFL Thanksgiving games: Interesting facts and history of football tradition

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16), defensive tackle DJ Reader (98), wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14), running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26), linebacker Al-Quadin Muhammad (69) celebrate their win against the Chicago Bears

Thanksgiving and NFL football go hand-in-hand today, but when did the tradition of football on Turkey Day even start?

As it turns out, the NFL – technically, its direct predecessor, the American Professional Football Association – has been playing football on the federal holiday since its inception. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the professional football league played its first Thanksgiving game in 1920, the same year it was founded.

In the more than a century since, there have been hundreds of NFL games on Thanksgiving. Three more will get underway this year, marking the 20th straight season the league has played three games on the federal holiday.

Here's what to know about the NFL's history on Thanksgiving:

When was the first NFL Thanksgiving game?

The NFL's tradition of playing on Thanksgiving dates back to the league's founding.

The first year of the American Professional Football Association – the league that would become the NFL – was 1920, and six games were played on Thanksgiving that year, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. At the time, the league featured teams like the Canton Bulldogs and Decatur Staleys, the latter of which became the Chicago Bears two years later.

The league's commitment to playing games on Turkey Day began in earnest in 1934, when the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans moved to Detroit, became the Lions and laid claim to an annual game on Thanksgiving. That decision, made by Lions owner and radio executive George A. Richards, was made seven years before Congress made the date of Thanksgiving – the fourth Thursday of November – a federal law.

It has stuck ever since. Except for 1941-1944, when the league paused Thanksgiving games during World War II, there has been a Lions game on Thanksgiving every year.

What NFL teams always play on Thanksgiving?

Richards and the Lions were the first to claim an annual Thanksgiving game back in 1934, and they still do to this day.

In 1966, then-Dallas Cowboys team president Tex Schramm offered his team up to the NFL as a second site for an annual Thanksgiving game. Ever since then – with the exception of 1975 and 1977, when the St. Louis Cardinals hosted a Thanksgiving game instead – the Cowboys have played a game on Thanksgiving.

What NFL team has played the most Thanksgiving Day games?

The Lions have played 85 games on Thanksgiving – their meeting with the Packers on Nov. 27 will be their 86th.

Which team has the most wins on Thanksgiving?

Detroit, having played the most games by a wide margin, also has the most wins on Turkey Day, although that margin is much slimmer.

The Lions have won 38 games on Thanksgiving, but the Cowboys – the team that has played the second-most games on the federal holiday – are not far behind them with 34 Thanksgiving wins.

NFL Thanksgiving records by team