It’s time for a short quiz to challenge all of you sports fanatics on sports other than the big three, NFL, NBA, and MLB. These questions are extremely random but I still found them interesting. Maybe you will as well. As always the answers will be listed below.
1. What card game gave us the term bilk?
2. What popular sport did Joe Sobek invent at the Greenwich, Connecticut, YMCA in 1950?
3. How many world records did swimmer Mark Spitz set when he won seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics?
4. In cross-country bike racing, what the initials BMX represent?
5. Who was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional world boxing title?
SUPER POLO
6. In the very first Boston Marathon, 15 runners competed. How many finished?
7. What professional ice hockey star didn’t hang up his skates until he was 52?
8. What was a fitting name of the first miniature golf course in the United States?
9. What popular sport was known in ancient Germany as Heidenwerfen?
10. In what sport is a stimpmeter used, and what does it measure?
AUSSIE HORSE RACING
Answers
Cribbage, Racquetball, 7, Bicycle Moto X, Floyd Patterson, 10, Gordy Howe, The Tom Thumb Golf Course, Bowling, Green Speed in Golf.
I acquired a joke book from an online thrift bookstore recently. It was a book titled “The Official Country & Western Joke Book”. I was looking forward to reading it and when it arrived I immediately dove right into it. It became painfully obvious within a few pages that the book was freaking awful. I searched through another eighty pages and couldn’t find one joke that made me even grin a little. That book was immediately removed from my archives and relegated to a paper bag located next to the trashcan. Todays post is PLAN B. Enjoy this mish/mosh of trivia.
The iconic theme song of the X-Files was created by accident when a producer accidentally hit the “echo” button on the control panel.
James Earl Jones was offered the lead in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which eventually went to Avery Brooks.
Samuel L. Jackson once held Martin Luther King Sr. hostage during a college demonstration at Morehead College.
Shaquille O’Neal made just one three point shot in his entire career. He only attempted 22 three-pointers for a 4.5% shooting percentage.
For 43 years the NFL’s record for the longest field goal was held by Tom Dempsey who was born with no toes on his kicking foot. His record setting 63 yard field goal in 1970 wasn’t broken until 2013.
At the height of his power, Pablo Escobar, spent $2500.00 a week on rubber bands that were needed to band the money he was bringing in.
At one time, the United States Rock-Paper-Scissors League was a real thing. The winning prize was $50,000.00.
It’s been a hectic week with life once again getting in the way. I thought a few tidbits of unusual trivia would keep everyone interested and entertained for a few minutes. Now I can return to my life such as it is.
The original name of Scrabble was “Lexico“. It was later called “Criss-Cross” before eventually becoming Scrabble.
During WWI sauerkraut was called “Liberty Cabbage” by the Americans. Hamburgers were called “Liberty Steaks“.
“Meetinghouse” was the WWII Allied codename for Tokyo.
The spacecraft Gemini 3 was nicknamed the “Molly Brown” by the astronauts Grissom and Young because in 1961 it sank upon reentry.
Alvin Karpus AKA “Old Creepy” was arrested by J. Edgar Hoover and sentenced to serve time in Alcatraz. He spent 26 years there from 1936-1952, more than any other inmate.
“Professor Tigwissel’s Burglar Alarm” was the first comic strip to appear in a newspaper, the New York Graphic, on September 11, 1875.
Betty Boop’s pet dog was named “Pudgy“.
The 1948 tune by Muddy Waters, “Rollin” Stone“, inspired the name of the rock group, the Rolling Stones.
Steve Trachsel was the Chicago pitcher who gave up Mark McGwire’s 62nd homerun in 1998 in Busch Stadium.
“A Wild Hare” was the 1940 Warner Brothers cartoon in which Bugs Bunny first said, “What’s Up Doc?”
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One of My Fav’s
“Manhattan Melodrama” was last movie watched by John Dillinger at the Biograph
Theatre in Chicago in 1934 just minutes before being gunned down by FBI agents.
The Stanley Cup has a number of misspelled words engraved on it. “BOSTON BRUINS” is spelled as “BQSTQN BRUINS”. “TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS” is “TORONTO MAPLE LEAES” and a number of misspelled players names have been added over the years.
Before Babe Ruth, the MLB’s career home run record was 138. When he retired the record was 714.
Nolan Ryan had seven no-hitters in his career but never a perfect game. His 2795 career walks are almost 1,000 more than the next closet pitcher.
The credit for breaking the racial barrier was not really Jackie Robinson. In 1879, Moses Fleetwood Walker played a full season in 1884, 63 years before Robinson.
The only team in the NFL to score three TD’s in a minute was the New England Patriots and they’ve done it twice.
The very first pick in the NFL draft never played a single game in the league. Jay Berwanger never signed with any team due to salary concerns.
Major League Baseball uses approximately 900,000 balls every season.
Wilt Chamberlain once averaged over 50 points a game for an entire season.
Here are a few semi-interesting trivia facts about a mish/mosh of subjects.
MAURY WILLS
“It Pays to Steal” is the title of Maury Wills’s 1963 autobiography. He was a famous base stealer.
The original name for the TV series, “The Rifleman” was “The Sharpshooter” in 1958.
The birthplace of George Washington in Virginia was Pope’s Creek Plantation in 1732.
The name of Boca Raton in Florida means “Rat’s Mouth” in Spanish.
The Detroit Lions NFL team was originally named “The Portsmouth Spartans” in 1934.
DETROIT LIONS
The Jamaican name of Ian Flemings home was “Goldeneye” where he wrote his first James Bond novel.
A well-known slogan used by Mad Magazine was “Humor in a Jugular Vein”.
Mel Brooks famous movie “Blazing Saddles” took place in the town of Rock Ridge.
The thespian puppet from Sesame Street was Meryl Sheep.
The term Zip Code was introduced in 1963 and means Zone Improvement Plan.
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One of My Favs
Snoopy of “Peanuts” fame had a number of siblings. He had two sisters, Belle and Molly. He also had five brothers: Andy, Marbles, Rover, Olaf, and Spike.
Yesterday was a less than a spectacular day. My better-half was diagnosed with Covid after returning from her safari to the northern wilds of Maine. It effectively required that the cat and I sleep alone for a few days until she recovers. Today started off when the Maine Medical System decided to charge me an out-of-pocket charge of $117.30 to appear at their office to have my blood pressure checked. I said, “Hell No!” and immediately cancelled the appointment. I hate it when people in any organization think of me as just another revenue stream rather than a real patient. Well, I think that’s enough of my bitching and complaining for today. This post is trivia related but contains much more obscure information than my normal facts. Enjoy!
Shaquille O’Neal wears a size 52XXXXL (extra-extra-extra-extra-long) jersey.
20.41 pounds is the weight of $1,000,000 worth of U.S. $100.00 dollar bills.
It is 14 miles distance from the Batcave to Gotham City.
There is an average of 512 plain M&M’s per pound.
Jimy Olsen’s middle name was Bartholomew.
The movie Roots was originally titled “Before This Anger”.
The original family surname of John Cleese was Cheese.
“Et one, Brute?” was the advertising slogan for Lay’s Potatoe Chips in the 60’s.
“JoJo” is Bart Simpson’s middle name.
Kelcy’s Bar was Archie Bunkers favorite hangout.
ONE OF MY FAVS
Manfred was the oldest of the Marx Brothers who died before his first birthday.
We seem to be in a lull for sports activities since the Super Bowl ended except for maybe Caitlin Clark as she tears up the WNBA. Just to help ease the pain being suffered by all of you fans out there, here’s a short sports quiz on a variety of subjects. Let’s see how well you do and as always, the answers will be found below.
What sport was the first to be filmed – and who filmed it?
How many home runs did Ty Cobb hit in the three World Series in which he played?
What baseball player hit his only career homerun off his brother?
Why did Roberta Gibb Bingay wear a hooded sweatshirt to disguise her appearance in 1966 during the Boston Marathon?
In 1974 what sport banned all lefties from participating?
What baseball legend hit the first two World Series home runs in Yankee stadium?
Who was the only two-time winner of the Heisman trophy?
Who was the only man in major league history to bat over .400 during his official rookie season?
Who was the first American golfer to break 60 on 18 holes in a major tournament?
What immodest two-word statement was on basketball great Michael Jordan’s Illinois vanity license plate?
ANSWERS
Boxing in 1894 by Thomas Edison, None, Joe Niekro in 1976 against his brother Phil, Women were banned prior to 1972, Polo, Casey Stengel-1923, Archie Griffin – 1974 and 1975, Shoeless Joe Jackson-.408 in 1911, Sam Snead-1959, RARE AIR.
Is it just me or is everybody obsessed with sports right now. The NFL’s leading the pack, but Caitlin Clark and the WNBA is running a close second. A few weeks ago, I posted a trivia quiz, and the response was excellent. Today’s post will be another quiz but totally dedicated to sports, sports fans, and trivia nerds like me. Let’s see how you do . . .
Sachel Paige
What pitcher made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame with a 28-31 major league win-loss record? The legendary Satchel Page, who played pro ball for 22 years reportedly winning more than 2000 of the 2500 games he pitched – before joining the majors in 1949 at the age of 42.
Who was the famous great-great-great-grandfather of San Francisco 49er quarterback Steve Young? Mormon leader Brigham Young.
What was Babe Ruth’s won-loss record as a big-league pitcher? 94-46
Why did the Cincinnati Reds baseball team send an autographed second-base bag to cowboy movie star Roy Rogers? The redbrick tenement that was his boyhood home once stood on the site of second base at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium.
Babe Ruth
To boost his chances of retrieving a home-run ball, what baseball loving movie star paid $6537 for several hundred seats behind the left-field fence for a 1996 game at Anaheim Stadium? Charlie Sheen, who attended the game with three friends. They came up empty-handed when no homers were hit their way.
What Olympic requirement was waived for Princess Anne when she competed as an equestrian in the 1976 Summer games in Montréal? She was the only female competitor not given a chromosome DNA test.
Princess Anne 1976
How many field goals and how many free throws did basketball great Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain make in his famous 100-point game in 1962? Chamberlain, playing for the Philadelphia Warriors, scored 36 field goals and 28 free throws against the New York Knickerbockers in that historic game.
In 1927, when Babe Ruth hit his 60 home runs, two of those home runs were hit off a pitcher who was later elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Who was this multitalented individual? Ernie Nevers, who played baseball for the St. Louis Browns in 1926, 27 and 28 and football for the Duluth Eskimos in 1926 and 27, and then the Chicago Cardinals in 1929, 30 and 31.
Who was the first major league pitcher to be selected Most Valuable Player and also win the Cy Young Award in the same year? Don Newcomb, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1956
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Well, how did you do? I have to admit these were some difficult trivia questions. I was disappointed with myself when I only scored two correct answers.
I’m quietly sitting here trying to decide what football team I should post about. I won’t post about the Pittsburgh Steelers because they’re just too awesome for this website. But unfortunately, Fall is football time and I’m starting to get the bug in a big way. In recent weeks I watched some good games, some bad games, and some ridiculously bad games. I thought I’d do some research to see if I can find any games that weren’t all that good in past years. Here is what I found.
This is about the game between Georgia Tech and Cumberland college. Sometimes colleges schedule games that are complete mismatches where one of the teams has absolutely no chance of winning. This was the worst loss I could find. It was October 7, 1916, and Cumberland was in big trouble.
Georgia Tech was coached by the great Johnny Heisman, for whom the Heisman Trophy was named. Cumberland, a tiny school, was located at Lebanon, Tennessee, and had a total enrollment of only 178 students. The Cumberland team agreed to play only because Tech promised a cash guarantee for money that would help support future football at their school. But within a few minutes the Cumberland players regretted they had ever agreed.
The slaughter began almost immediately. After one quarter, Georgia Tech had scored nine touchdowns and led 63-0. At the end of the half the score was 126-0. Georgia Tech scored whenever and however they pleased. Once Ev Strupper, who scored six touchdowns in the game, ran the ball to the goal line, then stopped and put the ball down on the one-yard line. He wanted his teammate, Canty Alexander, to carry the ball over the goal line to get credit for the score. After scoring 126 points in the first half, Georgia Tech let up a little and scored only 96 points in the second half.
Today’s post is going to do the unimaginable and permit us to time travel back 84 years to 1940. This is going to be a rambling narrative of things that were happening at the time and will start with the top five movies of the day: Boom Town, Fantasia, His Girl Friday, Kitty Foyle, and Knute Rockne All-American. Strange as it seems I recently saw a couple of these movies being streamed and I spent an hour and a half watching His Girl Friday with Cary Grant. After all those years it was still fun to watch because Cary Grant was effing amazing.
Ginger Rogers earned the best actress at the Academy Awards. The movie Grapes of Wrath was huge, and Walt Disney’s animation began to become a force in the movie industry with Pinocchio and Fantasia. Tom and Jerry weren’t far behind with Hanna-Barbera releasing Puss Gets the Boot. The year also brought us two future celebrities: Smokey Robinson born on February 19 and Peter Fonda born February 23. With the Great Depression over, 1940 consumer food intake became more dependent on canned foods such as soup, meat and vegetables.
Air travel was on the rise and the NFL’s Green Bay Packers became the first team to travel by air. The TWA Transcontinental Airline introduced the Stratoliner to help promote more travel across the continent. The United States had yet to be drawn into the war in Europe. The 1939-1940 World’s Fair was held at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York and was the largest world’s fair of all time.
In the world of sports baseball rapidly was spreading in popularity across the country. The Negro National League was steadily becoming more popular with teams like the Washington Homestead Grays (league champs), the Baltimore Elite Giants, and the Newark Eagles playing to large crowds.
Knute Rockne ruled college football with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers being named the national champs. The Heisman Trophy winner was Michigan halfback Tom Harmon. The NFL Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 73-0, in one of the most one-sided games in professional football history.
In the early 1940’s cars began to take on a lower, longer and broader look. This new look fit in well with the luxury cars that were beginning to be produced. They were the La Salle Series 52, the Lincoln Zephyr V-12, and the Packard Custom Super-8 180.The Pennsylvania Turnpike was opened on October 1, 1940, and the first Los Angeles freeway was dedicated in December.
The entertainment industry released the top hits of 1940: In the Mood-Glenn Miller, Frensi-Arte Shaw, Only Forever-Bing Crosby, and I’ll Never Smile Again-Tommy Dorsey. The talk radio shows of 1940 listed The Adventures of Ellery Queen, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Fibber McGee and Molly. And last but not least Franklin Delano Roosevelt hit the campaign trail in an attempt for a third term.
Now for some of the important stuff. The US population was 132 million. The average salary for a full-time employee was $1200 a year with the minimum wage of $.30 an hour. A loaf of bread was $.08, a pound of bacon was $.27, a pound of butter was $.36, a dozen eggs were $.33, a gallon of milk was $.26, a pound of coffee which $.21, 5 pounds of sugar was $.26, 10 pounds of potatoes was $.24, gasoline was $.11 a gallon, movie tickets were $.24, postage stamps were $.03, and an average car cost $990.00, and a single-family home was on average $2938.00.
everyuselessthing.com 