Thanksgiving means feasting and football Myra Miller Sat, 11/22/2025 07: 14 Library Image Jim Bradshaw Body Young folks may think the television networks and the NFL created the now inseparable link between football and Thanksgiving, but that’s not quite right. Football on Turkey Day is almost as old as the holiday itself and for many years it was the day when scores were settled among the most serious rivals. The Young America Cricket Club took on the Germantown Cricket Club in “a foot-ball match” in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving Day 1869, in what is generally believed to be the first holiday game. Since then, games between high school, college, and NFL teams have become almost as traditional as turkey and dressing. People actually went to the stadiums in the days before everybody had a television set, beginning in south Louisiana at least by Thanksgiving 1904, when the visiting St. Martinville High team beat Abbeville High 10-0. The Abbeville Meridional had little to say about the loss, reporting only that the game “resulted in a victory by the visitors by a score of 10 to 0.” The St, Martinville Weekly Messenger said that “every one of our players did his very best,” but that the star was Ralph DeBlanc, who drop-kicked a field goal in the first half, ran 80 yards for a touchdown in the second, then drop-kicked the extra point. That kick is still in the rules, but you don’t see it any more. The kicker drops the ball and kicks it just as the point of the ball touches the ground. It was used as a surprise play when the ball was snapped to a back who faked a run, then drop-kicked a field goal attempt. The kick went out of style in the 1930s, after the ends of the ball were made more pointed. That made passing easier but made drop-kicking harder. The new ball did not always bounce the way a drop-kicker needed it to bounce. For years the biggest Thanksgiving Day game in Louisiana was between LSU and Tulane. The rivalry began on November 25, 1893, when Tulane beat LSU 34-0. After that, the teams played nearly 100 games on Thanksgiving Day or on that weekend. Beginning in 1940, the winner took home a satin flag that came to be known as the Tiger Rag, after the LSU fight song. The flag was destroyed by a fire at the Tulane Center in 1982 and never replaced. It’s said the flag was created to promote sportsmanship after a near-riot following Tulane’s victory in 1938. The Times-Picayune reported that year that “fists flew fast and long paper reports can be believed. In 1913, for example, the Houma Courier reported that an amazing 3, 000 people turned up at Tiger Stadium to watch LSU beat Tulane 40-0 for the state collegiate championship. But even with the lopsided score, all was sweetness and light. “Fifteen Rahs!” the story began.“Whoop! Whoo-oo-ee Tigers! Hullabulloo Ra-Ra! Tulane! By 1927 those 3, 000 fans had grown nearly ten times over. An LSU press release said fans shouldn’t worry, Tiger Stadium could handle the 30, 000 people expected for the game, By 1940, some competitors moaned that Tulane had an unfair advantage because of the money brought in when it filled its 50, 000-seat stadium. The Tigers and Green Wave played 98 times over the years after that first game. LSU won 69 of those games, Tulane won 22, and there were 7 ties. After winning every game between 1982 and 2009, LSU paid Tulane $700,000 to void the final six years of the series and that ended the rivalry. The NFL played a Thanksgiving game in its very first year, 1920, but the Detroit Lions made it a regular event in 1934 with a game against the Chicago Bears. Since then, the Lions have played 85 Thanksgiving games, making them the pro team with the most appearances on this holiday. Dallas began playing on Thanksgiving in 1966. George Richards, the first owner of the Lions, started the tradition as a gimmick to fill the Detroit stadium, but also to gain a nationwide audience. He owned radio station WJR, a major affiliate of the forerunner to today’s American Broadcasting Company, and was able to broadcast his Thanksgiving games across the nation. Thus, a ritual was born. You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail. com or P. O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.
