Numbers Game: A look at Detroit's Thanksgiving Day Classic

Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson has yet to be on the winning side on Thanksgiving. (US Presswire)

When former Lions' owner G. A. Richards purchased the Portsmouth, Ohio, Spartans and brought the NFL to Detroit in 1934, the league was far from the worldwide brand it is today. Richards' franchise was clearly playing second fiddle to the Detroit Tigers, who were in the midst of back-to-back World Series appearances, and his team was struggling to draw fans despite a quality product on the field.
That's when Richards came up with the idea to hold a game on Thanksgiving Day, and the reigning World Champion Chicago Bears were chosen as the opponent. A Western Division crown was on the line, and Richards convinced the NBC Radio Network to broadcast the game live to a national audience.
The golden voice of Graham McNamee told the story of a 19-16 Chicago win, and the tradition of Thanksgiving football in Detroit -- bolstered by Richards' delight at an increase of 11,000 fans over his best non-holiday crowd that year -- was born.
Thursday's Lions-Texans game will be the 73^rd edition of Richards' holiday tradition, with the Lions looking for win No. 34.
Here's a look at some of the numbers that help tell the Lions' Turkey Day tale:
26,000 -- The estimated attendence at University of Detroit stadium for the first Thanksgiving Day game.
64,500 -- The capacity of sold out Ford Field for Thursday's Lions-Texans game -- 2.5 times the first game's attendence.
94 -- Number of NBC Radio Network stations that carried the first Thanksgiving Day game live.
200 -- Estimated number of CBS Television stations that will carry Thursday's game live.
24 -- Number of teams (including the Texans) that Detroit has played on Thanksgiving Day. Green Bay is Detroit's most common Thanksgiving opponent (20 games).
87 -- Number of points in the highest-scoring game in the series, a 52-35 Lions win over the Packers in 1951.
12 -- Number of points in the lowest-scoring game in the series, a 12-0 Philadelphia win in 1968.
7 -- Number of shutouts in the series. The Lions are 1-6.
8 -- Lions Thanksgiving Day wins in the 1950s, including 18-6 over Green Bay in 1957, Detroit's last NFL Champonship season.
1939-1944 ­-- The only years since 1934 that a Thanksgiving game has not been played in Detroit (due to World War II).
2 -- Number of overtime games. Detroit is 1-1 in overtime on Thanksgiving. The 1998 game was won on a Jason Hanson field goal. But it's best remembered as the game when referee Phil Luckett incorrectly heard Steelers' captain Jerome Bettis call “tails” in the overtime coin toss. Luckett's error gave the Lions the ball first, and ultimately the win.
3 -- Most touchdowns scored by a player, of which there have been nine.
6 -- Most touchdown passes by a quarterback in a game. Peyton Manning in a 41-9 Colts win over the Lions in 2004.
8 -- Number of games in the Lions' current Thanksgiving Day losing streak. Detroit's fans last went home happy in 2003, a 22-14 win over Green Bay.