I spend a moderate amount of my time reading, listening, and even watching some sports on TV or online. For me baseball is the absolute best. I fell in love with it at age 8 and that love affair continues to this day. I was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area but when it comes to baseball I favor no particular teams. It’s the skill of exceptional players that keeps me coming back. I thought today a short quiz of baseball trivia might interest some of you. Here are ten questions with the answers listed below. Have fun with it.
How man times did the “Father of Baseball” Abner Doubleday, mention the sport in his 67 diaries?
What baseball team introduced the sacrifice bunt, the squeeze play, the hit-and-run play, and the double steal?
Why did baseball manager Hal Lanier order all TV sets removed from the Houston Astro clubhouse in 1986?
What was the greatest number of homeruns hit in a single season by Ty Cobb, the Georgia Peach?
What famous sports commentator announced his first major league baseball game without ever having seen a game before?
FRED LYNN
What was baseball great, Stan Musial’s, advice to players trying to hit the spit ball?
What baseball playing brothers came in first and second in the race for the National League batting title in 1966?
What other two brothers hit home runs in the same World Series game?
Who was the only rookie in baseball history to be honored as rookie of the year and most valuable player in the same season?
What is the maximum length and thickness permitted for a major league baseball bat?
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Answers
Not once, The Baltimore Orioles, Player missed some practice because of watching the Wheel of Fortune, 12, Red Barber in 1934 for The Cincinnati Reds, “Hit it on the dry side.”, Matty .342 & Felipe Alou .327, Ken & Clete Boyers, Fred Lynn 1975, Length 43″ & Thickness 2 1/4″.
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.
I seem to be on a sports mission this week even though I’m not a devoted sports fan. Fortunately, or unfortunately I have a family member who is a professional sports analyst and as I watch him a lot of sports information and misinformation has made its way into my brain. I then decided to look for some of the more obscure and interesting facts about baseball that you may never have heard before. I think you’ll find them interesting.
Abner Doubleday
Though a U. S. Army officer, Abner Doubleday, is generally hailed as having invented baseball at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. Games called baseball, embodying the idea of hitting a ball and running bases were mentioned in English publications as early as 1744 and later in America 14 years before the Declaration of Independence.
During the baseball rivalries between the two major leagues in the 1890’s, the Pittsburgh Nationals, taking advantage of a technicality, signed a player from another club. For that reason, the Nationals president, J. Palmer O’Neill, and his club later became known as the Pittsburgh Pirates
Hugh L. Daily
Between 1882 and 1887, Hugh L. Daily played second base, shortstop, and pitched for several major league baseball teams. As a pitcher, he won 74 games, including a no-hitter, and he registered a long-standing record of striking out 19 batters in a game. Not bad for a man with only one arm.
The first formal rules for playing baseball required the winning team to score 21 runs.
Hoyt Wilhelm
The famous knuckleball baseball pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm hit a homerun in his very first time at bat in the major leagues, and never hit another in more than 400 times at bat in a 20-year career. In his second season, he hit a triple and never had another, and two doubles and hit only one more of them. His career batting average was .088.
Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb, of the Detroit Tigers played slightly more than a score of baseball seasons in the American League. He banged out 4,191 hits and posted a lifetime batting average of .367.
To boost attendance, the St. Louis Browns of the American League signed up a midget in the 1951 season. Eddie Gaedel was 3’7″ tall and wore uniform number 1/8th. He went to bat only once, in a game against the Detroit Tigers, and walked on four pitches. Midgets are now banned by the major leagues.
Babe Ruth
For 62 years, baseball’s greatest slugger, Babe Ruth, alone held the record (nine) for pitching the most one-season shutouts in the American League. In 1978 he became the co-holder, with Ron Guidry, of the record.