It’s time to set a few new Philly traditions right after Thanksgiving. But it will be the first time that the Philadelphia Eagles have ever played a game on the day after Thanksgiving. And they already have a plan to be dressed for success.
This Friday the Eagles will dawn black pants, jerseys, and those black-winged helmets that count as the third alternate under recent NFL rules. Jalen Hurts will even be wearing cleats designed by patients at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It’s a fitting fashion statement against the Bears — who have black home jerseys and uniforms.
But Thanksgiving football has had a place in Philadelphia history going way back.
Thanksgiving Football took a new meaning when Henry Holman and hia 1926 Frankford Yellow Jackets went 14–1–1 and won Philadelphia’s first NFL Championship. Homan wasn’t just talented, he was clutch in late game situations. As one of the most popular players on the Yellow Jackets — Homan scored a pivotal late touchdown in 1926 during what was a 1920s Thanksgiving Day tradition vs. the Green Bay Packers.
With George Halas’ Chicago Bears right on Frankford’s heals with twelve wins. After the Bears lost 7–6 at Frankford Stadium on December 4th (thanks to another late 27-yard score by Homan,) Chicago tied the Green Bay Packers 3–3 in the last game of the season. Back in Philadelphia, Frankford also ended the 1926 season with a tie against the Pottsville Maroons 0–0. A short time after, the NFL awarded Frankford the 1926 NFL Championship.
The record of the Yellow Jackets fourteen win season wasn’t broken until the San Fransico 49ers and Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice, and Joe Montana did it in 1984 — just two years after John Madden starting calling Thanksgiving Games in 1982.
And what other special meaning does this Friday have for Philadelphia? The outcome of three out of the four last seasons when the Eagles played on Friday were Eagles World Champions.
The last one was just last year.
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