By the time football had become a professional event, playing on Thanksgiving had already become an institution. Records of pro football being played on Thanksgiving date back to as early as the 1890s, with the first pro–am team, the Allegheny Athletic Association of …

Nov 28, 2024 · For NFL players and teams that play on Thanksgiving, turkey is still a huge focal point. The day’s highest honor is being handed the famous turkey leg after the game because it means you had an excellent performance. But how did the Turkey Leg Award start?

Nov 28, 2024 · During the 1989 Thanksgiving game between the Eagles and Cowboys, legendary commentator John Madden decided that the MVP for the game should receive a turkey leg as an award for their performance...

Nov 26, 2024 · For the third year in a row, the National Football League plans to honor Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHN MADDEN on Thanksgiving. The “John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration” will be featured on three broadcast networks, with a …

Nov 23, 2023 · Legendary pundit John Madden determined that the MVP of the 1989 Thanksgiving game between the Eagles and Cowboys should be given a turkey leg as a prize for their performance. The first-ever turkey leg award winner was Eagles linebacker Reggie White, who guided the Philadelphia defence to a 27-0 shutout of Troy Aikman and the Cowboys.

Nov 27, 2024 · Dating all the way back to 1989, Madden made a habit of awarding the MVP of the Thanksgiving Day games with a turkey leg. Green Bay Packers defensive end Reggie White was the first player to eat a turkey leg on the field following the game, a …

Nov 23, 2023 · Eating a turkey leg and later partaking in turducken have been a long-standing staple of the holiday and a connection for the winner of the games played on the fourth Thursday in November, dating...

Dec 29, 2021 · It all started on Thanksgiving Day 1989, which was the first time the NFL gave out turkey leg as the award to the most valuable player on Thanksgiving Day.

Nov 28, 2024 · “There’s no place that I would rather be today on Thanksgiving than right here, right now at a football game,” the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website quoted Madden once saying in a broadcast. “There’s just certain things that go together — …

Calvert Hall College and Loyola Blakefield, both private high schools in Towson, Maryland have played an annual football game on Thanksgiving Day known as the "Turkey Bowl." The 100-year-old tradition is the oldest continuous Catholic prep-school football rivalry in the United States.