The fourth Thursday in November has come to symbolize a lot about the American way of life. Thanksgiving is a tradition that includes family, turkey, and of course, football. And while Ben Franklin once lobbied unsuccessfully to make the turkey the national bird, football has staked its claim as the national sport.
Many experts trace this unique merger of American traditions to 1893 when New Yorkers held a Thanksgiving Day parade that journeyed through city boroughs before concluding at the old Polo Grounds. Ivy League constituents Princeton and Yale battled on the Polo Grounds in front of 40,000 spectators, giving birth to the Thanksgiving Day game.
Thursday will mark the 72nd anniversary of the Detroit Lions first Thanksgiving Day game. The tradition began in 1934 and has gone uninterrupted except for a stoppage during World War II.
Thanksgiving Day football, however, isn’t limited to the NFL and college ranks. High school teams have used the holiday to establish year-long bragging rights.
“It is absolutely about [bragging rights],” said Malden High School (Mass.) Principal Dana Brown, referring to the annual Thanksgiving Day Football Game between Malden and Medford High School. Thursday’s game will celebrate the 119th Thanksgiving Day game between the bordering towns.
According to Brown, the Malden-Medford game is the third oldest Thanksgiving Day rivalry in the country.
“This is something people are still talking about 15, 20, 25 years later, 'we beat you on Thanksgiving Day.' It doesn't matter that one team might have been league champion or one team might have been a state champion, it's whoever wins the Thanksgiving Day game that matters,” continued Brown.
Massachusetts’ Needham High School and Wellesley High School hold the distinction for the oldest Thanksgiving Day game dating back to 1882. The series has been interrupted only once since 1921.
“The moment kids put on pads in ninth grade for freshman football, it's all about Malden — Medford,” said Brown, about the Malden — Medford meeting. “That’s what they hear continuously. You might be playing some other team this Friday, but the Malden-Medford Thanksgiving Day game, that’s the big one. That’s the game you remember the rest of your life, that's the one people will talk about.”
During the early and mid 1900's the game attracted crowds of 20,000. “If you’re not out of town, this is where you go,” Brown said. “This is a big to-do. Because it’s the third longest rivalry in the country, it has historical meaning to the people of both communities.”
In south New Jersey, former Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier played his final prep game for Woodrow Wilson High on Thanksgiving Day 1979 against Camden-Wilson High School. Thursday will mark the 73rd Thanksgiving Day meeting between the schools since the rivalry started in 1931.
A football game on Thanksgiving Day represents a conference championship in some areas. In Washington, D.C., members of the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA) battle all season for the right to play on Thanksgiving.
