Hidden in Plain Sight

Thanksgiving Origins: Detroit Football Uncovered

Episode Summary

Nov. 25, 2025 ~ Dr. Robert Livernois steps into Detroit’s storied sports tradition on this episode of Hidden in Plain Sight, tracing the roots of a Thanksgiving ritual that began in 1934. That year, as the city thrummed with auto factories and radio waves, a new roar rose from a patch of turf at the University of Detroit—the Detroit Lions’ first Thanksgiving Day game. Today, Ford Field carries that legacy, built on history both athletic and architectural: its very bricks include remnants of the old Hudson’s department store, once a titan of Detroit commerce and sponsor of the city’s iconic Thanksgiving parade. Tune in for a story of vision, resilience, and the hidden threads that bind Detroit’s past to its present.