The start of a Thanksgiving Day tradition… As you settle in tomorrow to watch the Lions take on the Packers, here’s something worth knowing: Aside from a World War II hiatus from 1939–1944, Detroit has hosted a Thanksgiving game every single season since 1934. No other team in pro football has a holiday tradition this old or this consistent. And it all began with a gamble. In 1934, the Lions were new to Detroit — a strong team with almost no fan base, overshadowed by the Tigers. Owner George A. Richards needed a breakthrough. So he proposed something no NFL team had ever done: a nationally broadcast Thanksgiving Day game. It was a long shot. But Richards owned a powerful chain of Midwestern radio stations, including Detroit’s giant WJR. By leveraging that network, he convinced NBC to carry the game nationwide — something that instantly turned a local play into a national event. The result? A sold-out stadium. Huge radio audiences. And an NFL tradition launched in Detroit that en...