By George B. Eichorn
Let’s go back to another place and another time. After all, isn’t that what holidays like Thanksgiving are
all about?
The Detroit Lions had November 22, 1962 circled on their calendar. Arch rival Green Bay was coming
into Tiger Stadium to face the Lions. Game time temperature was 32 degrees but it was much hotter on
the gridiron. The undefeated Packers were favorites to keep their 10-game winning streak going. The
Lions (9-1) had other plans.
In front of a packed house of more than 57,000 and a CBS-TV national audience, Detroit’s Thanksgiving
Day football tradition was about to write a new chapter in Lions lore. Bart Starr, the star-studded
Packers quarterback, was about to get a taste of the Lions defense like never before.
Led by All-Pro defenders Roger Brown and Alex Karras, the Lions stuffed Starr and the Packers 26-14,
sending them back to Wisconsin with their first loss in a hoped-for undefeated season. The champs
turned into mashed potatoes as the ferocious Lions defense sacked the future Hall of Famer Starr 11
times and forced him into two interceptions. News media called the pounding a “Thanksgiving Day
massacre” at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull.
Now, the Lions are ready again to renew their holiday tradition. This time the Buffalo Bills provide the
opposition, Thursday, November 24, 12:30 p.m. at domed Ford Field with its climate-controlled setting;
not like that chilly day at Tiger Stadium 60 years before.
Lions QB Jared Goff will attempt to keep the Lions post-season hopes alive in the team’s 3-6 start to the
2022 season. The Bills, when quarterback Josh Allen is healthy, are a top Super Bowl contending team.
For Lions fans and those across our nation, Thanksgiving is football, parades (like Detroit’s on Woodward
Avenue), and turkey dinner with family gatherings. The National Football League got its way on this
holiday’s calendar in 1934 when Lions owner George A. Richards headed a group that bought the
Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans and moved the team to Detroit.
Richards, a radio executive, was successful in selling the Thanksgiving Day concept in to the city, the NFL
and NBC Radio Network officials. Now, Detroit is always given the early holiday time slot followed by the
Dallas Cowboys in their mid-day slot and a rotating night game among the remaining franchise cities.
Are you ready for some football? CBS/channel 62 will televise the game with WXYT-FM handling local
radio.
Reach George Eichorn at geichorn@yahoo.com or @Sandgsports99.
Detroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air by George B. Eichorn with an Introduction by Ernie Harwell | Arcadia Publishing Books
Detroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air by George B. Eichorn with an Introduction by Ernie Harwell | Arcadia Publishing Books
| $21.99 Detroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air by George B. Eichorn with an I…Detroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air |
| Detroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air by George B. Eichorn with an Introduction by Ernie Harwell | Arcadia Publishing BooksDetroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air |
