Why do Detroit and Dallas football teams always play on Thanksgiving Day?
In 1934, George Richards bought the Portsmith (Ohio) Spartans, moved them to Detroit, and renamed them the Lions. Richards decided to play the Lions’ game against the Bears on Thanksgiving Day at the University of Detroit Stadium. With no other professional competition and a radio station of his own, Richards was able to put together a 94-station coast-to-coast radio network. A national radio audience and 25,000 spectators witnessed the 19-16 Bears victory, and the Lions’ traditional Thanksgiving Day game was born. Because there are now two primary TV networks covering the two conferences, there must be two Thanksgiving Day games. The second one, which began in 1966, is played in Dallas. http://www.sportsjones.com/sport and society7.htm To reach the site type in an ampersand rather than the word ‘and’.
