Though the Detroit Lions lost to the Chicago Bears 19-16 in that first Thanksgiving game in 1934, according to the Detroit Historical Society, the team’s branding strategy was a success, and the holiday tradition for the Lions stuck. Detroit would go on to play on every Thanksgiving from 1934 on (outside a 1939-44 pause for World War II). The Cowboys, in 1966, aimed for similar success.
Founded in 1960, the Dallas Cowboys were still a relatively new team in the league in 1966, when team president/general manager Tex Schramm had an idea to get the team more national notice (per The Dallas Morning News). He signed Dallas up to play on Thanksgiving (in a second game), and he also secured a guarantee from the NFL that Dallas could host the game every year — just like the Lions.
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And, just like the Lions and their very first Thanksgiving game, the Cowboys’ game in 1966 was a marketing success. Crowds packed the stadium (with more tuning in from home), and — unlike the Lions — the Cowboys won against the Cleveland Browns, 26-14. And since, the Cowboys have kept up their own Thanksgiving-football tradition every year, with two exceptions. In 1975 and 1977, the St. Louis Cardinals got to take over Thanksgiving, but they couldn’t replicate the Cowboys’ ratings, so Dallas got the game back.
