Before the NFL had three Thanksgiving games — or any games at all — the tradition was already under way in one part of the country.

The northeast is credited with creating the Thanksgiving game tradition. But, no, it wasn't the New York Giants or the New York Jets that started it. Rather, the tradition began in the upscale setting of Princeton and Yale.

'People in this area ... are used to having football with their turkey.'

Back in 1876, the two schools played what is considered to be the first college football game on Nov. 30. Just 1,000 fans sat through a 2-0 Yale victory in Hoboken, New Jersey, that would start a tradition for the ages.

Over the next two decades, the annual game grew in popularity, with Princeton winning 6-0 in front of more than 50,000 fans in 1892, according to

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