'A pretty big deal:' Milwaukee family gathers for ‘Turkey Bowl’ every Thanksgiving for 55 years!

MILWAUKEE -- There are three ingredients for a traditional Thanksgiving -- food, family, and football. One Milwaukee family has a football tradition that was still going strong on Thanksgiving 2019 -- 55 years after it started.

Every Thanksgiving, you'll find the Kierzek family at the corner of 10th Street and Cleveland Avenue, picking teams. It's all part of their annual Turkey Bowl.

Turkey Bowl

Turkey Bowl

Tom Kierzek

The friendly, sometimes physical game is a tradition older than the Super Bowl.

The first game was in 1965 -- when a busy mom told her eight kids to go outside so she could focus on dinner.

"So we came across the street here and started playing football, and that was the start of it," said Tom Kierzek.

Decades later, a son threw to his father -- as the third generation played center.

Turkey Bowl

"I like playing with my family," said Caitlyn Kierzek.

Jason Kierzek

"This is a pretty big deal," said Jason Kierzek. "I know it sounds weird because it's just a football game. It's more of a social event, I think -- just to see everyone."

The Kierzeks estimated hundreds of people have played over the years. They said all are welcome, and there's no end in sight.

"As far as I can tell, it's not going to end," said Tom Kierzek.

"Fifty-five years is a long time, but I don't see it slowing down anytime soon," said Jason Kierzek.