Editing Ironton, Ohio (section)

=== Professional football and Thanksgiving Day football tradition ===
Ironton had one of the first professional football teams in the United States, called the [[Ironton Tanks]].  The team was organized in 1919 and played through 1930. The football field previously used by the Tanks is now home to the Ironton High School Football team, the Ironton Fighting Tigers.

The Tanks began what is now the [[National Football League]]'s Thanksgiving Day Game tradition of the Detroit Lions. The Tanks played a game in 1920, the day after Thanksgiving, with the Lombards, a crosstown rival, winning 26–0. In 1922, they played and defeated the Huntington Boosters 12–0 on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 30. The Tanks continued playing on this national holiday each year through 1930, which was the Tanks' final season. Several Tanks players (including Glenn Presnell) continued their football careers by joining the nearby Portsmouth Spartans, which continued the annual tradition until their demise after the 1933 season.

The Spartans' assets were acquired by businessman G.A. Richards and moved to Detroit, where they were renamed the Lions.  Asked by Richards about ways to improve ticket sales, the players replied that they always got a good turnout on Thanksgiving Day. He promptly scheduled the first Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit.<ref>{{cite book|title=Home & Away: Rise & Fall Of Professional Football On Banks Of Ohio|first= Carl |last=Becker |year=1998|chapter=Detroit Lions - History of the Thanksgiving day game|isbn=9780821412374|publisher=Ohio University Press}}</ref>