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Dropping Back Into Chicago Bears Thanksgiving History

It's Thanksgiving time, the 2018 NFL season is heading into the final turn with an eye on the home stretch and the Chicago Bears are ready to play on turkey day for the thirty-fifth time. The last time the Bears played on Thanksgiving was also the last time they defeated the Green Bay Packers, 17-13 in that day's prime time slot.

For a franchise as storied as the Bears, with a history that stretches back to the founding of the NFL, it's surprising that most of those stories don't include Thanksgiving Day. Still, Bears fans are thankful for the chance to gather around the television with family this season and watch the team take on the Detroit Lions, even if Mitch Trubisky is going to be sidelined. So, as long as there is family gathered together let's enjoy a look back at the team's Thanksgiving history.

The Staleys and the American Professional Football Conference

Most fans can recite the Bears origin story as easily as they can for most Marvel characters but it's always worth a visit when reaching all the way back on the team's timeline.

On September 17, 1920, George Halas joined a group of men in the Hupmobile showroom of Ralph Hay, owner of the Canton Bulldogs. Their goal was to bring organization to a pro game that consisted of independent teams that would play a season of whoever they could schedule. Two teams would end up representing Chicago in the league's inaugural season. The Chicago Cardinals were the first of the two and represented the south side of the city. They played their games at Normal Park on South Racine Avenue (which led to them being originally referred to as the Racine Cardinals).

The second Chicago team that played in that inaugural season was the Tigers, who called Cubs Park (renamed Wrigley Field in 1927) their home. They were one of the many independent Midwest squads that existed at the time and joined the league just before the season began.

It was the Tigers who the Bears...er, Decatur Staley's travelled to Chicago to play on the league's first Thanksgiving schedule of games. Two Dutch Sternaman field goals were all the Staleys needed for a 6-0 victory, which improved their record to 9-0-1 on the season. The 1-5-1, Tigers played one more non-league opponent the following Sunday before the team folded into obscurity.

The Crosstown Era

In 1922, the Bears were firmly established in their Cubs Park home and began a 12 year stretch of Thanksgiving Day battles against their crosstown rivals, the Cardinals. Two of those meetings became landmark NFL moments.

On Saturday, November 21, 1925, the legendary, Harold "Red" Grange played his final game for the University of Illinois. The following day "The Galloping Ghost" shocked the football world by announcing he was signing a contract to play for the Chicago Bears. In those days college stars didn't play professional football. They were expected to take their degrees and move on with their lives. About the controversy he shook up Grange later said, "I'd have been more popular with the colleges if I had joined Capone's mob in Chicago rather than the Bears,"

Grange's signing brought instant attention and credibility to the pro game. On Sunday November 22, he sat on the bench with his new team as the Bears beat Green Bay 21-0. The following Thanksgiving Thursday, before the Bears left for a tour through the east to play a series of games that would set attendance records, Grange made his professional debut. He rushed for 36 yards in a 0-0 tie against the Cardinals.

In 1929, the Bears found themselves on the losing side of history. At Comiskey Park, fullback Ernie Nevers, playing his first season for the Cardinals rushed for six touchdowns and kicked four extra points to crush the Bears 40-6. Nevers' 40 points scored is still an NFL single-game record.

The Detroit Lions Rivalry

Where were you on Thanksgiving Day in 1980 when Dave Williams returned the overtime kickoff 95 yards to give the Bears their benchmark turkey day victory? Most fans were probably heading to the kitchen to get started on their second turkey dinner of the afternoon and missed it.

Before that high note though, the two franchises played an earlier landmark Thanksgiving game. Before the 1934 season, the Portsmouth Spartans were sold to radio executive George Richards who moved the team to Detroit and renamed them the Lions.

This Thanksgiving game pitted two Western Division powerhouses against each other. The Bears went in with an 11-0 record, one game ahead of Detroit with two to play, both against the Lions.

This contest in Detroit also required a miracle finish by the Bears to pull it out. The Lions had won their first seven games that season by shutout. Against the Bears, two rushing touchdowns by Ace Gutowsky gave Detroit a 16-7 halftime lead for that defense to protect.

It took two Jack Manders field goals in the third quarter to bring the Bears back within striking distance, 16-13. In the fourth quarter, fullback Bronko Nagurski connected with Bill Hewitt on a two-yard touchdown pass to keep the Bears undefeated on the season. The Bears wrapped up the Western Division title the following week in Chicago, winning 10-7. That team would go on to lose the NFL Championship to the New York Giants in what is famously known in NFL history as "The Sneakers Game" (which is an incredible story itself).

The additional significance of this 1934 game was that Richards teamed with NBC Radio to put together a 94-station network to broadcast it. That kind of exposure confirmed to NFL owners that they were on the right track in their strategy of moving on from the league's small-town roots into cities where the pro game could attract more attention.

Unfortunately for the Bears, their 1980 miracle finish didn't lead to a postseason appearance. It did lead the team into a three wins in four games run but that could only lift their final record to 7-9. Disappointing after a playoff appearance in 1979.

The team was down 17-3 in this one heading into the fourth quarter, then quarterback Vince Evans went to work. A 20 yard touchdown pass to tight end Bob Fisher pulled the game back within reach. Then came the 14 play, 94 yard drive with 3:17 remaining on the clock. With six seconds remaining, on third-and-goal from Detroit's four, Evans saw a lane open up in the middle of the line and dove in for the tying touchdown.

It's a game that will live forever in the minds of Bears fans. A forgettable season but it produced an unforgettable game.

This Fanpost was written by a Windy City Gridiron member and does not necessarily reflect the ideas or opinions of its staff or community.