Don’t Tell Them It’s Just a Game: Paull’s Turkey Bowl Has Grown From Humble Beginnings

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WHEELING – Thanksgiving and football go hand in hand like turkey and dressing or mashed potatoes and gravy. Lee Paull IV, president of Paull Associates in Wheeling, fully embraces that connection and even adds a little flair for the folks in his neighborhood.

Paull's Turkey Bowl, an annual football game with family and friends on Thanksgiving day, is no run-of-the-mill exhibition. It has grown from just a game to a neighborhood party, allowing players and spectators the chance to get together for some holiday fun.

The event grew from humble beginnings, Paull said. It started when his sons Collin and Lee were in elementary school and it was just brother versus brother with dad as all-time quarterback. But as the years went on, the rosters started to grow, and Paull figured it was time to up the ante.

The game now happens on a field, lovingly named Gobbler Field, beside the Paull house in their Aaronwoods neighborhood. Paull bought pylons to mark the end zones and stripes the field, complete with the crests of Wheeling's three high schools - Wheeling Park, Wheeling Central Catholic and Linsly - in the center.

Now up to 20 people will join each year, be it rain, snow, sleet or hail. Paull thinks his favorite Turkey Bowl was one played a few years back in 2½ inches of snow. It's a touch football game, but Paull admits competitive juices sometimes flow strongly.

"There are some hard touches, if you know what I mean," he said.

Some of that comes with family and sibling rivalries, Paull said. The rosters usually are split so brothers and sisters and cousins are on opposite sides. And plenty of families participate. Dr. Ken Nanners and his sons Brady and Benton are regulars, as are Dr. Mike Wayt, his wife Heather and daughters Brooklynn, Kennedy and Ireland, and Mike and Luke Duplaga.

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Turkey Bowl participants are in action during a contest from previous years.

Turkey Bowl participants are in action during a contest from previous years.

"It gets pretty competitive within the families," Paull said.

It's also pretty popular among the neighbors. After a few games, some of the neighbors started getting curious and came down to Gobbler Field to catch the action. These days, anywhere from 40 to 50 neighbors will watch, rolling in coolers and bringing chairs for the game.

The game goes for two 25-minute halves with a party at halftime. Once the game wraps up, everyone heads back for a beer-tasting on the deck at Paull's house.

Everything that surrounds the game - family and friends participating, neighbors coming by to watch and everyone have a good time at halftime and post-game - is just as important to Paull as the game itself. It's an opportunity to join together on a holiday and enjoy each other's company.

"I think it's just been a fun tradition," Paull said. "You get up play around 12, play for an hour and after that, we celebrate the day of watching football and having family around. It's just a part of the tradition of playing the game.

"It's a blast," he added.