GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – For the first time since 2015, the Green Bay Packers will host a Thanksgiving game, facing off against the Miami Dolphins in what is expected to be a chilly matchup at Lambeau Field.
This Thursday’s game will mark only the third Thanksgiving game ever played in Green Bay. The first took place in 1923 at Bellevue Park, where the Packers defeated the Hammond Pros 19-0.
Packers team historian Cliff Christl highlights the significance of a 1949 Thanksgiving game, in which the team played an intra-squad game to raise funds amid a $90,000 debt, ensuring the Packers could complete their season. While they fell short of their $50,000 fundraising goal, the game helped save the franchise.
The Packers’ longstanding Thanksgiving tradition is closely tied to their rivalry with the Detroit Lions, having faced them 21 times. Though the Packers won the matchup last season, some of their Thanksgiving games have been more challenging. In 1962, their only loss of the season came on Thanksgiving against the Lions in a lopsided game where Christl recalls the Packers struggling to move the ball.
Following that game, coach Vince Lombardi ended the 13-year tradition of playing on Thanksgiving in Detroit, telling NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle the Packers no longer wished to play on the holiday, citing the competitive disadvantage.
Nine years ago, the Packers hosted their first Thanksgiving game at Lambeau Field against the Chicago Bears. Despite losing in a cold, snowy contest, the game is memorable for the halftime ceremony that saw Brett Favre’s name added to the north facade of Lambeau, alongside other Packer legends. It also marked Bart Starr’s final appearance at Lambeau, where he shared an emotional hug with Favre after the ceremony.
Thursday’s game will be the 38th time the Packers have played on Thanksgiving, making them the third most frequent team to participate, behind only the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions.