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89-560: Aside from Fiscus, the Greensburg Athletic Association included several of the era's top players, such as: Charlie Atherton , George Barclay , Ross Fiscus , Jack Gass , Arthur McFarland , Charles Rinehart , Isaac Seneca and Adam Martin Wyant . Several of these players revolutionized the game during their playing careers. Charlie Atherton is credited with inventing the place kick , and George Barclay invented

178-470: A bronze -colored statue of a nondescript turkey holding a football. In 2011, the trophies were discarded altogether and replaced by a commemorative plaque . Unlike the aforementioned "Turkey Leg Award", the Galloping Gobbler was normally awarded to only one player annually, however in 2016, co-winners were honored. For 2017, the Galloping Gobbler was permanently retired, and replaced with

267-484: A touchdown accounted for four points and the “ goal after ” for two. Greensburg finished a highly successful season with a record of 6-1-1 and led to an increased interest in football throughout Western Pennsylvania. Fans now turned out in large numbers for games, and even accompanied the team by train to road games. And while Fiscus was the only paid player on the 1894 team, several other pros joined him in 1895. Greensburg's 1895 season opened and closed with games against

356-480: A $ 400 forfeit and withdrew from the Thanksgiving Day game at Greensburg to play against Duquesne instead. However that game also had to be cancelled because of extreme weather conditions. Greensburg's final season record was 3–7. Although there were probably others, several members of the 1895 squad who were known to have been paid to play football were Fiscus, guard-quarterback Adam Wyant of Bucknell and

445-485: A 12–6 loss in the ninth game to Latrobe. However, the outcome of that game was reversed by a 6–0 score in a season-ending rematch at Latrobe. Greensburg, along with Washington and Jefferson College , had the best football records in Pennsylvania for the 1897 season. Barclay, however, was the only Greensburg player among the eleven named by The Pittsburg Times to their “All-Western Pennsylvania” team. The start of

534-422: A 9-1-1 record. However, the score and the outcome of Greensburg's final game against Latrobe is disputed by historians. While Greensburg and Latrobe records both indicate a 4-0 Greensburg win, one Pittsburgh newspaper reported the game ended in 4-0 Latrobe victory. For 1896, Alfred Sigman of Lafayette College became the team's fullback and coach, and two more Fiscus brothers, Ross and Newill , were added to

623-575: A Pittsburgh-area team financed heavily by the Carnegie Steel Company . Newspapers in Greensburg called it “the greatest contest ever witnessed on the Greensburg gridiron”. The game also featured a match-up between two of the era's star players: Homestead's Art Poe and Greensburg's Isaac Seneca. Greensburg newspaper accounts of the day state that Seneca outplayed Poe. However, the Greensburg club did sustain several key injuries during

712-753: A collection of Czech and Slovak folk songs he had captured that were sung by soldiers during their time in Siberia. It was a time of political turmoil and he witnessed the Nazis rise to power first hand. He documented each event in highly descriptive letters to his sister, Harriet, who he called Hattie. He died on December 17, 1935, at the age of 60 of tuberculosis. He was buried at Vienna Central Cemetery , in Austria on December 21, 1935. Pennsylvania State University library holds an oral history interview with his sister Helen Atherton Govier from January 25, 1974. He

801-419: A dedicated host team or any conference tie-in, meaning the league can place any game into the time slot. Since NBC took over the prime time game in 2012, divisional matchups have been normally scheduled, with the exceptions being in 2016, 2021 and 2022. In 2014, a series of changes to the broadcast contracts freed CBS from its obligation to carry an AFC team, and by 2018, the last vestiges of conference ties to

890-599: A game against the Jeannette Athletic Club , ended at halftime due to disagreement between the two teams. The disagreement regarded the tough play of Greensburg's Lawson Fiscus, who was accused of kicking or stepping on the face of one of the Jeannette players, during the game. A rematch between Greensburg and Altoona was held on Thanksgiving Day . This time though, Greensburg defeated Altoona, 6–4 in front of about 2,500 fans. During this era, please note that

979-570: A gimmick to get people to go to Lions football games, and to continue a tradition begun by the city's previous NFL teams . What differentiated the Lions' efforts from other teams that played on the holiday was that Richards owned radio station WJR , a major affiliate of the NBC Blue Network (the forerunner to today's American Broadcasting Company ); he was able to negotiate an agreement with NBC to carry his Thanksgiving games live across

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1068-543: A heighten security plan for the return game in Latrobe. On October 31, the Greensburg team, still injury-plagued, suffered a fourth consecutive loss, 24–0, to Duquesne Country and Athletic Club at Exposition Park. Greensburg's final win came on November 5 with a 22–0 over Altoona. However, the team was defeated again by Homestead five days later, 22–0 over Altoona. The final professional football game for Greensburg took place on November 17, in Latrobe. Latrobe would go on to win

1157-578: A prime exposure opportunity second only to the Super Bowl halftime show . It has remained a tradition for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions to host the afternoon games dating several decades. Other teams eventually expressed interest in hosting Thanksgiving Day games. Lamar Hunt , the former owner of the Chiefs (who had hosted Thanksgiving Day games from 1967 to 1969 as an AFL team prior to

1246-694: A series of ugly Cardinals losses in the three-game stretch, and opposition from the Kirkwood–Webster Groves Turkey Day Game (a local high school football contest) led to Dallas resuming regular hosting duties in 1978. With their resumption as a regular NFL Thanksgiving Day venue, the Cowboys requested and received an agreement guaranteeing the Cowboys a spot on Thanksgiving Day indefinitely. Since 1978, Thanksgiving games have been hosted in Detroit and Dallas every year, with Detroit in

1335-403: A small silver figurine of a cartoonish turkey wearing a football helmet striking a Heisman-like pose. Much like Cleatus and Digger , the original Galloping Gobbler trophy reflected Fox's irreverent mascots, and went through several iterations. Unimpressed by its tackiness, Emmitt Smith famously threw the 2002 award into a trash can. In 2007, the kitschy statuette was replaced with

1424-717: Is a direct descendant of James Atherton , one of the First Settlers of New England; who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1630s. NFL on Thanksgiving Day Since its inception in 1920, the National Football League (NFL) has played games on Thanksgiving Day , patterned upon the historic playing of college football games on or around the November holiday. The NFL's Thanksgiving Day games have traditionally included one game hosted by

1513-399: Is widely rumored that the Cowboys sought a guarantee that they would regularly host Thanksgiving games as a condition of their very first one (since games on days other than Sunday were uncommon at the time and thus high attendance was not a certainty). This is only partly true: Dallas had in fact decided on their own to host games on Thanksgiving; team president Tex Schramm was enticed by

1602-708: The Buffalo Prospects and the Rochester Jeffersons . The game ended in a scoreless tie, leading to a rematch the next Sunday for the league championship. Several other NFL teams played regularly on Thanksgiving in the first eighteen years of the league, including the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals (1922–33; the Bears played the Lions from 1934 to 1938 while the Cardinals switched to

1691-571: The Carlisle Indian School , was also signed to the team. Also that year, Latrobe's team was reorganized by the team's long-time manager, Dave Berry. Soon a three-game series had been arranged between Latrobe and Greensburg which provided for a home-and-home series, with a third game at the site which drew the largest crowd. Greensburg began the season 2-1-1, before losing 6–5 to the Homestead Library & Athletic Club ,

1780-542: The Chicago Maroons in the 1890s have been cited as "The Beginning of Thanksgiving Day Football." In some areas, most commonly in New England , high-school teams play on Thanksgiving, usually to wrap-up the regular-season. By the time football had become a professional event, playing on Thanksgiving had already become an institution. Records of pro football being played on Thanksgiving date back to as early as

1869-663: The Cleveland Rams , a future NFL team, and the 1940–41 incarnation of the American Football League played two games in 1940 on the earlier "Franksgiving" date. In 1951, the Packers began a thirteen-season run as the perpetual opponent to the Lions each year through 1963. In 1966, the Dallas Cowboys , who had been founded six years earlier, adopted the practice of hosting Thanksgiving games. It

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1958-957: The Detroit Lions since 1934, and one game hosted by the Dallas Cowboys since 1966 (with two exceptions in 1975 and 1977). Since 2006, a third prime time game has also been played on Thanksgiving Day. Unlike the two afternoon games, this game has no fixed teams. In 2001, the NFL began branding the games as the Thanksgiving Classic . In 2022, the league changed the branding to the John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration in honor of head coach and broadcaster John Madden , who had died in December 2021. The concept of American football games being played on Thanksgiving Day dates back to 1876, shortly after

2047-598: The Green Bay Packers for 1934 and 1935), Frankford Yellow Jackets , Pottsville Maroons , Buffalo All-Americans , Canton Bulldogs (even after the team moved to Cleveland they played the 1924 Thanksgiving game in Canton), and the New York Giants (1929–38, who always played a crosstown rival ). The first owner of the Lions, George A. Richards , started the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day game as

2136-559: The Kiskiminetas Springs School , 34–4. A group of college students, which of whom returned home to Greensburg for Thanksgiving vacation, played for the team for a game against an unknown Pittsburgh club to close out the season. However, the team, filled with supplement players, lost to the Pittsburgh club by a narrow margin. During the 1891 season , the club suffered from at least two known losses against two of

2225-559: The Latrobe Athletic Association , from nearby Latrobe , which served as Greensburg's chief rival. The Latrobe team had an impressive squad led by John Brallier who became the first football player to admit to being a paid professional. Greensburg won the opening game 25–0 over Latrobe, and the second game 42–2 over Western University of Pennsylvania, to start the season 2–0. Soon afterward, Fiscus and two former Penn State University players, Charlie Atherton (who

2314-461: The University of Chicago , and fullback Charles Atherton and halfback Fred Robison, both of Penn State. Wyant was cited by his coach at Chicago, Amos Alonzo Stagg , as “one of the best men that ever donned the canvas jacket” (then part of the uniform). Wyant also served at one time as principal of the Greensburg schools and became a U.S. Congressman from the Greensburg area. He would go on to be

2403-661: The "AFC package" and televised inter-conference games in which the visiting team is from the AFC ( NBC from 1970 to 1997, and CBS since 1998) and the network with the "NFC package" (CBS from 1970 to 1993, and Fox since 1994). In 2006 , the third game in primetime originally aired on the NFL Network . In 2012 , NBC took over broadcasting the primetime game, and ever since all three broadcast networks with Sunday NFL rights carry one Thanksgiving Day game apiece. The first two games continue to be split between CBS and Fox, with CBS getting

2492-411: The "All-Iron Award", which is, suitably enough, a small silver iron , a reference to Phil Simms ' All-Iron team for toughness. The All-Iron winner also received a skillet of blackberry cobbler made by Simms' mother. Through 2006, the trophy was only awarded to one player annually. Occasionally, it was issued as a "group award". In 2008, Simms stated it was "too close to call" and named four players to

2581-405: The "Game Ball", a stylish, ornate football-shaped trophy, reminiscent of the tradition where game-used balls are typically awarded to players of the game. For 2019 and 2020 (coinciding with Fox's new partnership with WWE SmackDown ), the "Game Ball" was replaced by a WWE Championship Belt. The "Game Ball" returned in 2021. When the NFL returned to CBS in 1998 , they introduced their own award,

2670-437: The 12:30 p.m. ( EST ) Detroit "early" game, and Fox getting the 4:30 p.m. Dallas "late" game in even-numbered years, and Fox getting the "early" game and CBS the "late" game in odd-numbered years. In 2014, a system known as "cross-flex" was introduced, in which the two networks bound by conference restrictions, CBS and Fox, could carry games from the other conference as part of their Sunday afternoon package, including

2759-462: The 1890 season, through 1893, were not particularly successful. The drawbacks included a lack of local opponents, rivalries which did not develop until later as well as a lack of local experienced players. It is not even known if the club recorded a win prior to 1894. The Greensburg Athletic Association kicked off its inaugural season in 1890. Their first game resulted in 6–6 tie against Indiana Normal ( IUP ), while losing their first-ever home game to

Greensburg Athletic Association - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-562: The 1890s, with the first pro–am team, the Allegheny Athletic Association of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. In 1902, the National Football League , a Major League Baseball -backed organization based entirely in Pennsylvania and unrelated to the current NFL, attempted to settle its championship over Thanksgiving weekend; after the game ended in a tie, eventually all three teams in the league claimed to have won

2937-535: The 1898 season saw optimism in Greensburg with the return of ex-coach Charlie Atherton. However, some of the players from the 1897 season had bigger offers to play elsewhere and left the team. Replacing these players proved hard since the amount of money, to lure new talent to Greensburg, was hard to come by in a small city. However, as early as 1898, the team featured Christy Mathewson , a future baseball hall of famer and former fullback from Bucknell University , in their line-up. Greensburg's first game that season

3026-399: The 1899 season began, most of the top Greensburg players of the year before were playing for either Greensburg's rivals in Pittsburgh or for other teams as far away as Newark, New Jersey . As result of not having a Greensburg or Latrobe team in 1899, the football clubs from Pittsburgh completed their schedules by playing teams mainly from eastern Pennsylvania. In 1900, plans were complete for

3115-598: The 1906 game led to severe drops in attendance for the Bulldogs and ultimately led to their suspension of operations. During the 1910s, the Ohio League stopped holding Thanksgiving games because many of its players coached high school teams and were unavailable. This was not the case in other regional circuits: in 1919, the New York Pro Football League featured a Thanksgiving matchup between

3204-422: The AFC could showcase only one team on Thanksgiving, and the AFC team was always the visiting team. Since 2006, a third NFL game on Thanksgiving has been played in prime time . It originally aired on the NFL Network as part of its Thursday Night Football package until 2011, when the game was moved to NBC's Sunday Night Football package under the NFL's current television deals. The night game has never had

3293-478: The Cowboys contest. (Under league rules, only radio stations that carry at least 12 Cowboys games in a season are allowed to carry the Compass broadcast.) The participating teams also air the games on their local flagship stations and regional radio networks. The Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day game has regularly been the most watched NFL regular season telecast each year, with the Lions' Thanksgiving Day game usually in

3382-401: The Lions would stay on Thanksgiving Day for the 2009 season , but kept the issue open to revisit in the future. Conversely, the Dallas Cowboys, who typically represent a larger television draw, have had far fewer public calls to be replaced on Thanksgiving Day. One issue that has been debated is a perceived unfair advantage of playing at home on Thanksgiving Day. The advantage is given in

3471-558: The Lions' annual home game would remain on the Thanksgiving holiday. The All-America Football Conference and American Football League , both of which would later be absorbed into the NFL, also held Thanksgiving contests, although neither of those leagues had permanent hosts. Likewise, the AFL of 1926 also played two Thanksgiving games in its lone season of existence, while the AFL of 1936 hosted one in its first season, which featured

3560-409: The NFL adopted a new policy requiring players and teams to utilize only one helmet a season to address the league's new concussion protocol ; rather than sport an incomplete throwback look, the Cowboys instead wore their standard blue jerseys at home for the first time since 1963. In 2015, the Cowboys resurrected their 1994 white "Double-Star" jerseys only this time wore them with white pants as part of

3649-535: The NFL's current scheduling formula, which has been in effect in its basic form since 2002, effectively prevented teams from the AFC North from playing at the Lions or Cowboys on Thanksgiving. The formula had the AFC North playing at Dallas or at Detroit in years when other divisions were slated to fill the AFC slot on Thanksgiving. These teams, under the television contracts in place at the time, could only play in

Greensburg Athletic Association - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-497: The Pittsburgh Athletic Club for the first time, posting a 14–0 win at home. All three of the game's touchdowns were scored by Lawson Fiscus. On October 31, Greensburg defeated Latrobe, 10–4. In the stands there was considerable betting over whether Latrobe would score or not. Late in game Latrobe's Doggie Trenchard scored a touchdown, led to a Latrobe newspaper stating that “Greensburg got the game and Latrobe got

3827-434: The Pittsburgh Athletic Club, 28–0. In 1893, Greensburg placed a higher emphasis on its football program. The results of three of the four games from that season remain unknown. The team's fourth game, against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, resulted in 10–0 loss. In 1894 Greensburg hired its first professional player, Lawson Fiscus , for $ 20 a game plus expenses. While Fiscus did play for Greensburg as an amateur in 1893, he

3916-478: The Pittsburgh Athletic Club. However, the team later turned things around to finish the season strong. In the final game of the season, Greensburg beat rival Latrobe 6–0 at Latrobe. According to the Greensburg Daily Tribune , the end of the game was marred by stoning and spitting on Greensburg players and fans, “boorish conduct by ruffians,” resulting in one player being injured when he was hit on

4005-602: The Salvation Army began the tradition of kicking off its Christmas Kettle campaign during halftime of the Dallas game. The campaign kickoff event includes a halftime show by a major recording artist, with halftime concerts also eventually being added to the Detroit game (which traditionally supports the United Way 's Live United campaign ) and the night game. The NFL has treated the Thanksgiving halftime slots as

4094-560: The Thanksgiving games were eliminated (although in practice games on Fox have remained all-NFC contests). The originally scheduled 2020 primetime game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers was postponed to the following Wednesday, December 2, after multiple Baltimore players and staff tested positive for COVID-19 in the days before the game. This thus marked the first time no primetime contest

4183-416: The award has gained notoriety. Madden brought the award to Fox in 1994 , and it continued through 2001. Because of the loose and informal nature of the award, at times it has been awarded to multiple players. On one occasion (1994) it was given to players from both teams. When John Madden left Fox after 2001, Fox introduced a new award starting in 2002, named the Galloping Gobbler . It was represented by

4272-524: The behest of then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle , the St. Louis Cardinals replaced Dallas as a host team (Dallas then hosted St. Louis in 1976). Although the Cardinals, at the time known as the "Cardiac Cards" due to their propensity for winning very close games, were a modest success at the time, they were nowhere near as popular nationwide as the Cowboys, who were regular Super Bowl contenders during this era. This, combined with St. Louis's consistently weak attendance,

4361-484: The cash.” However Greensburg's hopes of winning a state championship were dashed when the club was finally defeated by the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club in Pittsburgh, 18–4, on November 14. The game was followed by a scoreless tie with Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Greensburg did recover from their road trip to post a 10–0 win over Latrobe on Thanksgiving Day to end the season 6-1-1. The 1897 season marked

4450-537: The early time slot and Dallas in the late afternoon slot. Because of television network commitments in place through the 2013 season, to make sure that both the AFC-carrying network (NBC from 1965 to 1997, and CBS since 1998) and the NFC-carrying network (CBS from 1956 to 1993, and Fox since 1994) got at least one game each, one of these games was between NFC opponents, and one featured AFC-NFC opponents. Thus,

4539-471: The first color television broadcast of an NFL game was the Thanksgiving Day match between the Lions and the Baltimore Colts . Starting in 1970 , the Detroit "early" game and the Dallas "late" game initially rotated annually as intra-conference ( NFC at NFC) and inter-conference ( AFC at NFC) games. This was to satisfy the then-television contract balance between the network holding the rights to

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4628-504: The first "Turkey Leg Award", for the game's most valuable player. Pursuant to its name, it was an actual cooked turkey leg, and players typically took a celebratory bite out of the leg for the cameras during post-game interviews. Reggie White of the Eagles was the first recipient. The gesture was seen mostly as an amusing gimmick tied to the holiday and relating to Madden's famous multi-legged turkeys and turduckens . Since then, however,

4717-465: The first U.S. Congressman to have played professional football. Atherton, who had a street and campus building named after him, later became president of Penn State University. Charlie Atherton Charles Morgan Herbert Atherton (November 19, 1874 – December 17, 1935) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman . Nicknamed "Prexy", he batted and threw right-handed, was 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) tall and weighed 160 pounds. He

4806-547: The first-ever football helmet . Meanwhile, Isaac Seneca became the first Native-American to earn All-American honors and Adam Martin Wyant was the first professional football player to become a United States Congressman . The team's home games were played at Athletic Park (which was later renamed Offutt Field ). The field is still in use as football field by Greensburg Salem High School and, up until 1993, Greensburg Central Catholic High School . The first four years of Greensburg Athletic Association football that began with

4895-444: The form of an extra day of practice for the home team while the road team has to travel to the game site. This is true for most Thursday games, but with the night games, the visitor can travel to the game site after practice on Wednesday and hold the final walkthrough the following morning. With the introduction of the prime time game, which effectively allows all teams in the league an opportunity to play on Thanksgiving Day, along with

4984-430: The game and did their best to discourage their players from taking part. After an apparent decline in financial resources and interest, professional football in Greensburg and Latrobe underwent a one-year hiatus in 1899. Some efforts were made to reorganize a team around a core of local members of the 1898 squad, which would have to be shored up by obtaining some Latrobe players. However this effort never materialized. When

5073-401: The game had been invented, as it was a day that most people had off from work. In that year, the college football teams at Yale and Princeton began an annual tradition of playing each other on Thanksgiving Day. The University of Michigan also made it a tradition to play annual Thanksgiving games, holding 19 such games from 1885 to 1905. The Thanksgiving Day games between Michigan and

5162-403: The game, 11–0, and the claim of “Westmoreland County championship”. By this time, the team was experiencing major financial problems. To make matters even worse, the club's scheduled next-to-last game was cancelled due to inclement weather. However, the worst occurred when Latrobe, who always drew large crowds when they played Greensburg, withdrew from a scheduled Thanksgiving Day game. Latrobe paid

5251-471: The game, the Lions had lost their last four Thanksgiving Day games, and opinions amongst the media had suggested removing the Lions and replacing them with a more attractive matchup. The team also required an extension to prevent a local television blackout . The Lions were routed by the Tennessee Titans 47–10, en route to the team's 0–16 season . NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that

5340-482: The game. By this time Greensburg was unable to regain its footing. A loss at home, this time to Latrobe, was sustained a week later on October 27. This marked Greensburg's third straight loss. During the game a fight between Seneca and the Latrobe quarterback, named Kennedy, led to a riot between the opposing fans and players. This riot prompted the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office to devise

5429-471: The head by a rock. At the end of the season, against their club's wishes, Greensburg's Charles Rinehart and George Barclay played in the first pro football all-star game for the 1898 Western Pennsylvania All-Star football team , against the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, on December 3, 1898. The all-star team was put together by Latrobe manager, Dave Berry and resulted in 16-0 Duquesne win. For reasons that are still unclear, Greensburg leaders opposed

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5518-681: The holiday in 1969 (while the team was still an AFL franchise in San Diego), appeared for the first time as an NFL member in 2017. * All-America Football Conference team. Since 1989, informal and sometimes lighthearted Most outstanding player / MVP awards have been issued by the networks broadcasting the respective games. Running back Emmitt Smith holds the record for most Thanksgiving MVPs with five (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2002), followed by Tony Romo with four (2006, 2007, 2009, 2013). Among players not from Detroit or Dallas, Josh Allen , Drew Brees and Brett Favre each hold three. Voting on

5607-414: The introduction of year-long Thursday Night Football ensuring all teams have one Thursday game during the regular season (thus negating any on-field advantages or disadvantages to being selected for Thanksgiving Day), the calls for the Lions and the Cowboys to be removed have diminished. DuMont was the first network to televise Thanksgiving Day games in 1953 ; CBS took over in 1956 , and in 1965 ,

5696-539: The league's Color Rush , a trial run of specially-designed, monochromatic jerseys to be worn during Thursday games. In 2022, after the NFL lifted the one-helmet rule, the Cowboys resumed wearing the throwback navy "Double-Star" jerseys on Thanksgiving. In 2001–2004, and again in 2008, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2023 the Detroit Lions have worn throwback uniforms based on their very early years. For 2019 and 2022, Detroit wore its silver Color Rush uniforms. In 1997,

5785-477: The merger), lobbied heavily in favor of his team hosting a game on the holiday. When the NFL adopted a third, prime time game, the Chiefs were selected as the first team to host such a contest, but the team was not made a permanent host, and Hunt's death shortly after the 2006 contest ended the lobbying on behalf of the team. The host issue came to a head in 2008, focusing particularly on the winless Lions. Going into

5874-962: The musical director of the Jan Hus Presbyterian Church in New York City . Atherton learned the Czech language and became a student of Czech and Slovak Folk Songs. He travelled to Vladivostok in 1919 to encourage the evacuation of the Czech Legion , who were stranded in Siberia in the aftermath of the First World War . Upon his return he published a book titled “Favorite songs of the Czech Slovak Army in Russia”. His elder brother, Frank Peabody Atherton

5963-528: The network. During the Franksgiving controversy in 1939 and 1940, the only two teams to play the game were the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles , as both teams were in the same state ( Pennsylvania ). (At the time, then- U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt wanted to move the holiday for economic reasons and many states were resistant to the move; half the states recognized the move and

6052-421: The other half did not. This complicated scheduling for Thanksgiving games. Incidentally, the two teams were also exploring the possibility of a merger at the time. ) Because of the looming World War II and the resulting shorter seasons, the NFL did not schedule any Thanksgiving games in 1941, nor did it schedule any in the subsequent years until the war ended in 1945. When the Thanksgiving games resumed in 1945, only

6141-430: The pinnacle of the professional football era in Greensburg. That year's squad had 27 players, which included a number of new ones. Among those players was George Barclay , of Millville , who played a halfback at Bucknell University and Lafayette University . Barclay brought several of Lafayette top players with him to Greensburg to enhance the team. Greensburg went on to post a 10–1 record. The team's only defeat came at

6230-476: The potential for CBS to broadcast an NFC vs. NFC game on Thanksgiving Day. From that year through 2016, CBS carried all-NFC contests every year on Thanksgiving Day, and in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2023, no AFC teams played in any of the Thanksgiving Day games. To date, the NFL has never assigned an AFC road game to Fox on Thanksgiving Day. Westwood One most recently held national radio broadcast rights to all three games, with Compass Media Networks sharing rights to

6319-424: The publicity that would come with a permanent nationally televised contest and volunteered to be host when the NFL proposed the second Thanksgiving game. Schramm also anticipated a home field advantage in that the shorter week would favor the home team because the opponent would not only lose three days of practice but additional time traveling to Dallas that the Cowboys could use to prepare. In 1975 and 1977, at

6408-403: The respective awards is typically done informally by the announcing crew and/or producers, and criteria are loose. Noteworthy statistical accomplishments weigh heavily, and "group" awards are not uncommon. The announcement of the winner(s), and the presentation of the award is normally done immediately following the game, during post-game network coverage. In 1989 , John Madden of CBS awarded

6497-404: The return of professional football to Greensburg. Under the direction of industrialist Morris L. Painter, Greensburg once again fielded a team. Many of the players were from eastern and midwestern colleges and universities. The top sought player for the 1900 season, Ralph Hutchinson of Princeton , signed with Greensburg as a player-coach . Meanwhile, Isaac Seneca , a former All-American from

6586-450: The team. Greensburg began their season 5–0, which included wins over the Pittsburgh Athletic Club and Latrobe. The team was acclaimed by Pittsburgh papers at mid-season as being the best in Pennsylvania. During a game against a squad from Beaver Falls , Greensburg's Tom Donohoe ran 44 yards with an intercepted pass . [Note: Pass was probably a lateral , since the forward pass was not legal until 1906]. On October 17, Greensburg defeated

6675-797: The third (night) game. With changes in the scheduling practices in 2014 ("cross-flexing"), the division is no longer barred from participating in one of the afternoon games. Even with cross-flexing available, an AFC North team has yet to play at Detroit or Dallas on Thanksgiving, and all of the AFC North's appearances have thus far been in the night game. The Los Angeles Rams have the longest active appearance drought of any team, with their last appearance coming in 1975. Since 2010, several appearance droughts have ended. New Orleans , Cincinnati , Baltimore , Houston , and Carolina all played their first Thanksgiving games during this time frame. San Francisco likewise played their first Thanksgiving game since 1972 in 2011. The Los Angeles Chargers, who last played on

6764-580: The title. Members of the Ohio League , during its early years, usually placed their marquee matchups on Thanksgiving Day. For instance, in 1905 and 1906 the Latrobe Athletic Association and Canton Bulldogs , considered at the time to be two of the best teams in professional football (along with the Massillon Tigers ), played on Thanksgiving. A rigging scandal with the Tigers leading up to

6853-506: The top five. (Winning teams are denoted by boldface type; tie games are italicized.) Of current NFL franchises. This includes American Football League (AFL) games; however, it does not include All-America Football Conference (AAFC) games. The last currently active franchise to have never played on Thanksgiving through 2024 is the Jacksonville Jaguars , who joined the league in 1995 . An idiosyncrasy in

6942-565: The trophy; he then gave the award to several people every year until 2013, after which he reverted to a single MVP in 2014. Simms was removed from the broadcast booth for the 2017 season in favor of Tony Romo , who did not carry on the tradition. Instead, the " Chevrolet Player of the Game" award was extended to CBS' Thanksgiving Day game. As in CBS' regular Sunday afternoon NFL coverage as well as Fox's regular NFL coverage, Chevrolet will donate money in

7031-552: The two top football athletic clubs in Pittsburgh: the Pittsburgh Athletic Club and the Allegheny Athletic Association . Meanwhile, the result of an earlier game against Indiana Normal remains unknown. Meanwhile, the surviving records of the club's 1892 campaign show only two games being played, resulting in two losses against Western University of Pennsylvania (today the University of Pittsburgh ), 6–2, and

7120-480: The weekend, and in some cases also involved classic field logos at the stadiums. From 2001 to 2003, Dallas chose to represent the 1990s Cowboys dynasty by wearing the navy "Double-Star" jersey not seen since 1995 . In 2004 , the team wore uniforms not seen since 1963 . In 2009, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the AFL , both Dallas and Oakland played in a "AFL Legacy Game." In 2013, the Cowboys intended to wear their 1960s throwbacks, but chose not to do so after

7209-691: Was Penn State's first sports star as a member of the school's baseball and football teams. He is also credited with inventing the place kick . He was an early professional football player and coach for the Greensburg Athletic Association . He also played professional football in 1896 for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . He made his Major League debut on May 30, 1899 at the age of 24. He hit .248 in 242 at bats in 1899, which would end up being his only Major League season. He also hit 5 doubles , 6 triples and had 23 RBI . Defensively, Atherton committed 26 errors , which

7298-548: Was a Spanish–American War veteran and composer. Atherton continued to live in New York City during the 1920s undertaking a role as a social worker for Czechs and Bohemians through his church. He continued to travel back and forth the Atlantic, between New York and Bremen , between 1928 on SS America and 1934 on SS Europa . He was very familiar with Central Europe and his books were published in Czech and included

7387-595: Was actively recruited by several other teams as professionalism in football began to take hold. Fiscus played informal football at Indiana Normal, even before it even fielded a school team. He has also played at halfback for the Allegheny Athletic Association as well as for Princeton University . During the 1894 season , Greensburg jumped out to a 5–0 record, before losing 10–0 against the Altoona Athletic Club . A week later,

7476-454: Was against, their rivals, Latrobe. The game was played on a field, so muddy that the game had to be delayed at one point so that mud could be removed from the eyes, nose, mouth and ears of Latrobe's Ed Abbaticchio , who was buried in the mud on one of his carries. Latrobe went on to win the game 6-0 (4-0 by other accounts). The 1898 season would go on to be marred with another loss to Latrobe, and ties against Duquesne Country and Athletic Club and

7565-442: Was also the team's coach) and Fred Robison , turned down an offer promising each of them $ 125 a month to play for the upstart Duquesne Country and Athletic Club , located in Pittsburgh. They were induced to stay with Greensburg when "interested parties" in that city raised some extra money to guarantee to the players. After a 6–0 start the team tied the Pittsburgh Athletic Club 0–0 at Exposition Park . The following week, Greensburg

7654-562: Was an accomplished musician and writer, as well as an athlete. He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey , the son of George W. Atherton and Frances “Fannie” Wright Darusmont Washburn, of Plympton, Massachusetts. His father, a Civil War veteran, at the time was a professor of political science at Rutgers University . In 1882, at the age of 9 he moved to Philadelphia when his father took over as president of Pennsylvania State University . Atherton loved baseball as well as football. He

7743-533: Was defeated by the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club in Pittsburgh, 14–0, in what was seen as a controversial game. A local resident with ties to Duquesne was substituted for the scheduled official. This resulted in what the Greensburg Daily Tribune called bad officiating and “thievery”. A touchdown was said to have been scored by Duquesne after time was called, along with rough play. However Greensburg soon recovered and finished their season with

7832-766: Was fourth worst on the now defunct Washington Senators team of the National League . He played his final game on August 22, 1899. He traveled to a Russia as part of the YMCA. He was based in Petrograd , hosted by the Czech Legion , who were aligned to the Russian Imperial Army . He witnessed the Russian Revolution , World War I . He had become acquainted with Vincent Pisek of Malesov , an American Czech pastor who invited him to become

7921-435: Was held since 2005. On November 11, 2022, the league announced that the Thanksgiving games would be branded as the "John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration", honoring the memory of head coach and broadcaster John Madden . Madden called 20 Thanksgiving games during his broadcasting career. Since 2001 teams playing on Thanksgiving have worn throwback uniforms on numerous occasions. In 2002, it extended to nearly all games of

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