For 90 years, 2 Minnesota families spend Thanksgiving together on the gridiron
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A couple of Minnesota families hit the gridiron on Thursday for the 90th time as a Thanksgiving Day tradition continues.
The 2023 Battis-Bohen Turkey Bowl took place on the frigid grass of Highland Park in St. Paul.
It all started in 1933, when Grandpa Thomas and Grandma Carmela were kids who lived across the street from each other, and their families would play football to get out of the house. Thomas and Carmela got married in 1941.
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Since 1933, the game has been played in snow, mud, bitter cold and the occasional mild day.
Megan Paulus, who is a daughter of a Battis, says it's a way to bring the family closer together.
"I do it because it's my favorite part of Thanksgiving, it really is. Every year you get to come out, you be a little uncomfortable, a little cold, but you get to see people that you don't see any other time," Paulus said. "You see people that you only see at the Turkey Bowl, you get to get out, run around."
No score is kept during the game, but everyone who takes part gets their name added to the handmade trophy that took more than 200 hours to create.
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