Outside Oberlin:

Detroit Gibblets: the Lions' love affair with Turkey

Let me give you all a rundown of what my traditional Thanksgiving holiday is like. It begins with a long drive to Norwalk, Conn. accompanied by my mother and grandmother - the conversation is usually confined to lame family chatter. When we arrive, my priorities kick in immediately, as I make a beeline for the pigs-in-a-blanket appetizers that are so yummy to munch on. Of course, I humor my relatives and their friends with recycled pleasantries to show my courtesy. But my real passion is sharing quality couch space with middle-aged, balding men watching football - not just any kind of football, Thanksgiving football.

You know, listening to John Madden ramble on about the "mutant" turkey that's handed out every year, the one with nine legs. Or the constant remorse that I feel for poor Pat Summerall and his incoherent babbling and senile play-by-play.

But this Thanksgiving was different. I stayed here in Oberlin and enjoyed the game by myself. Then I got to thinking. What's changed? I used to enjoy watching the Lions, what with Barry Sanders burning opposing defenses with huge games. But now, something's different. And still I dreamed on, wondering what it was...

Finally it hit me like a ton of bricks. The Lions aren't a particularly interesting team to watch. They don't exactly have the prestige and status so often associated with their turkey counterparts, the Dallas Cowboys. So why am I forced to watch them every year? Well, that's what intrigued me for the next couple of days. So I thought I'd take it upon myself to research this question that begrudged me throughout the holiday.

"No other team in professional sports can claim to be as much a part of an American holiday as can the Detroit Lions," claims the team's site. "When you think of Thanksgiving, you think of football and the Lions."

The brainchild behind such a move was G.A. Richards, the first owner of the club. He bought the Lions in 1934 and moved them from Portsmouth, Ohio to Detroit. Baseball was still the big draw in the Motor City, so Richards decided to play on Thanksgiving against the undefeated, defending champion Chicago Bears. The Bears were coached by their legendary sideline figure, George Halas.

Richards managed to cleverly convince the NBC Radio Network radio to broadcast the game on 94 stations across the U.S. Almost 26,000 fans jammed into the University of Detroit Stadium to witness the contest. Previous to the Thanksgiving match, the top crowd for a Lions game was only 15,000.

The Bears proved triumphant over the wet-footed Lions on Nov 29, 19-16. In fact, from 1934 to 1938 these two teams faced each other every year on Turkey Day, with the powerful Bears taking three out of the five games.

After the '38 season, the Thanksgiving tradition took a short sabbatical for that quiet skirmish with that German fellow and subsequent water fights in the Pacific.

The Lions returned to their traditional holiday activities the next year, losing to the Cleveland Rams, 28-21.

For some odd reason, they played the Packers for 13 straight years, from 1951 to 1963. The Lions emerged victorious in 10 of those contests, dropping two and tying one (their lone Thanksgiving tie).

In 1968, Detroit fell to Philadephia 12-0 in the "Mud Bowl" at Tiger Stadium. It remains the lowest scoring game in series history. In fact, the team didn't win again until 1970, when they knocked off the Oakland Raiders 28-14. Since that time, the Lions are 15-12, including a 55-20 shellacking of the Bears in last years' tilt.

Now here are some juicy tidbits from Detroit's Turkey Day Tradition:

- The Lions have played 21 different teams since the first Thanksgiving Day game. The two most common opponents have been the Packers (15), followed by the Bears (13).

- The two highest scoring games were a 44-40 Packers' win in 1986 and a 52-35 Detroit romp over Green Bay in 1951.

- The most lopsided game was a 45-3 Detroit win over Pittsburgh in 1983. Seven shutouts have been recorded, but only one by the Lions (20-0 over the Bears in 1979).

- The Lions have a 13-10 record in games in the Silverdome (since 1975). Detroit has outscored their opponents 1,285 to 1,187 in the 58 games (an average score of 22.1 to 20.5).

- The lone Thanksgiving overtime game came in 1980 when the Bears' David Williams returned the opening kickoff of OT for a 95-yard touchdown. The game marked the shortest overtime game in NFL history (21 seconds).

Finally, some memorable Thanksgiving Day contests:

1934 - The Bears took a 19-16 win in the series opener. Chicago went on to post a 13-0 record, a NFL mark that stood until the 1972 Dolphins captured 17 straight wins.

1935 - The Lions took revenge from '34 by beating the Bears, 14-2, to clinch the Western Division title. Detroit went on to beat New York, 26-7, for the club's first NFL Championship.

1950 - Bob Hoernshemeyer rushed for 198 yards in a 49-14 win over the New York Yanks. Included in his big day was a 96-yard TD run, the longest in club history and the third longest ever recorded in the NFL. The Lions' offense racked up 582 yards of total offense; the most in team history in Detroit's first Thanksgiving Day win since 1938.

1951 - The highest scoring Thanksgiving Day game in history was the first of 13 straight Turkey Day appearances in Detroit by the Packers. Bobby Layne passed for four TD's and Jack Christiansen returned two punts for a TD (89 and 72-yarders) to spark Detroit to a 52-35 victory. Bob Hoernschemeyer also chipped in with an 85-yard run for TD.

1953 - Green Bay led 15-7 at halftime but Bobby Layne connected with Cloyce Box on a 97-yard TD play (now the third- longest in club history) and the Lions won 34-15 on the way to their second straight NFL crown.

1954 - Detroit beat Green Bay, 28-24, extending its streak of consecutive wins over the Packers to 12. It was the second time in five days the Lions defeated Green Bay as the clubs met the previous Sunday with Detroit edging the Packers at Lambeau Field, 21-17. Detroit finished the season 9-2-1 but lost the World Championship to Cleveland, 56 - 10, in a rematch of the 1953 contest.

1956 - A late-game Tobin Rote TD pass erased the Lions' title hopes in a 24-20 loss to the Packers. It was the first Thanksgiving Day game shown on national television, something now that is taken for granted.

1962 - The famed "grudge match" saw the Lions' "Fearsome Foursome" (Darris McCord, Alex Karras, Roger Brown and Sam Williams) sack Bart Starr 11 times for 110 yards in a 26-14 Detroit destruction of Green Bay. The Packers were 10-0 coming into the game and the Lions' win avenged a 9-7 last-second Green Bay win earlier in the season. It was the only loss of the season for the Packers, who went on to claim the World Championship.

1976 - O.J. Simpson rushed for a then-NFL-record 273 yards but the Lions defeated Buffalo, 27-14.

1980 - Vince Evans scored on the last play of the game, and David Williams returned the overtime period's opening kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown as Chicago stunned Detroit, 23-17. The game marked the only Thanksgiving Day overtime, and ranks as the shortest OT (21 seconds) in NFL history.

1984 - The Lions came from behind to trim the Packers, 31-28, in Green Bay's first Turkey Day appearance since 1963.

1985 - The Lions bombed the playoff-bound New York Jets, 31-20, as Eric Hipple passed for four touchdowns, including three to Leonard Thompson. The Lions' defense overshadowed the New York Sack Exchange by sacking Jets' QB Ken O'Brien seven times.

1986 - A wild 44-40 Packers' win saw the come-from-behind Green Bay victory clinched when Walter Stanley returned a punt 85 yards for the winning score with 41 seconds left in the game. The 40 points are the most points ever scored by the Lions in a loss.

1989 - The 50th Thanksgiving Day game revealed an inspired Lions effort in a 13-10 upset victory over the heavily favored Cleveland Browns. Rookie Barry Sanders rushed for 145 yards and caught two passes for 44 yards in the Detroit victory.

1995 - A record-breaking offensive explosion paved the way for a 44-38 win over Minnesota. The Lions' gobbled up 534 yards of total offense (fourth-highest total in club history) and Scott Mitchell (30-45 for 410 yards and four touchdowns) set records for most passing yards in a game and most completions and attempts in a season. And for the first time in club history, three players eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving yards - Brett Perriman with 12 receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns, Johnnie Morton with seven catches for 102 yards (first 100-yard game of his career) and a touchdown and Herman Moore with eight grabs for 127 yards and a score.

1997 - The Lions used 38 second half points to cruise to a 55-20 win over Chicago. The 55 points are the most ever scored by a Lions team in regular season play, and are the most points ever allowed by a Bears club. Also, Barry Sanders' 167 yards rushing (and three TD's) allowed him to pass Eric Dickerson into second-place on the league's all-time rushing list.