The Year In Sports: 1899 Trivia Quiz

Answer: St. Louis Perfectos

The St. Louis Perfectos would change their name in 1900 and become the St. Louis Cardinals. The team took a convoluted path to the National League, beginning in the National Association in 1875 as the St. Louis Brown Stockings (not to be confused with the American League's St. Louis Browns in the early 1900s) before moving to the National League the next year. Leaving the National League the next year, the team survived as an independent team for a few years before helping to form the American Association in 1882. Changing it's name the next year to the St. Louis Browns, the team continued in the American Association until its demise in 1891. Moving to the National League, the team changed its name to the Perfectos for the 1899 season.

The Louisville Colonels folded outright although multiple minor league teams called themselves the Louisville Colonels during the 20th century. The Cleveland Spiders folded following a season when the team shipped many of its good players to St. Louis. (The same person owned both teams. The impact of this created a rule in baseball that prevented a person from having ownership in more than one team.) the Cleveland Indians of the American League were an unrelated team. Likewise, the Washington Senators of the American League had moved from Kansas City and had no connection with the nineteenth century Washington Senators.

The picture is meant to suggest the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Answer: England

The four teams were involved in a series of six matches between February 18, 1899 and April 08, 1899. England won all three of the matches in which it was involved, including a 2-1 victory over Scotland in the final match. Scotland came in second with two victories, followed by Ireland in third, and Wales in fourth. In the match on February 18, England defeated Ireland 13-2, with six players scoring goals and four of them scoring multiple goals.

The picture shows a red cross on a white background, suggesting the flag of England.

Answer: Montreal Shamrocks

Unlike when professional teams competed for the Stanley Cup with a series of games, the defenses of the Cup in the amateur era often involved single games. The Montreal Shamrocks, on behalf of the Canadian Amateur Hockey League defeated Queen's University of the Ontario Hockey Association 6-2 on March 14 to retain the cup for the CAHL. The Montreal Victorias who held the cup earlier in 1899 were a distinct team from the Winnipeg Victoria of the Manitoba Hockey Association who would win the Stanley Cup in 1901.

The picture shows a green beret (suggesting a combination of green for the shamrocks of Ireland and the beret for French). In addition, the picture has a French flag, suggesting the French most commonly spoken in Montreal.

Answer: University of Kansas

James Naismith (1861-1939) of Ontario was employed by the YMCA of Springfield, MA when he invented the game of basketball. He would serve as the head coach of the men's basketball team from 1898 to 1907, where he accumulated a 55-60 record. Although he did not have great success as a coach, he coached players who would become successful coaches on their own behalf, including Adolph Rupp. Naismith would live to see basketball introduced as a regular medal sport in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

The picture shows a yellow (brick) road) traveling from start to Oz. Hopefully you remembered that "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" started in Kansas.

Answer: James J. Jeffries

James J. Jeffries (1875-1953) of the United States was World Heavyweight Champion of Boxing from 1899 to 1905. He defeated Bob Fitzsimmons on June 09, 1899, in Coney Island, NY, to win the title with a knockout in the 11th round. After multiple defenses he stepped down undefeated in 1905. He was convinced to make a comeback in 1910 against then-champion Jack Johnson. He had been out of shape after several years out of the ring and had to engage in a crash-training course to get ready. Although several observers felt that Jack Johnson won the 1910 match because Jeffries was rusty, Jeffries himself felt that Johnson would have won even if Jeffries was in his prime.

The picture shows a man with a "jeff cap" on his head, suggesting James J. Jeffries.

Answer: Arizona Cardinals

Contractor Chris O'Brien created an amateur football team in 1898 named the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago. The team moved to Normal Park on Racine Avenue the next year and was renamed the Racine Normals. In 1901, after buying used red uniforms from the University of Chicago, the tema renamed itself the Racine Cardinals. Though the original Cardinals folded in 1906, a new team formed in 1913 also named itself the Cardinals and claimed a connection with the original team. The team would rename itself the Chicago Cardinals in 1920 upon joining the predecessor of the National Football League. In 1960 the team moved to St. Louis, MO, and in 1988, to the Arizona desert.

The Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears both began as independent teams in 1919 before joining the League. The New York Giants would be formed in 1925.

The picture shows a cactus which one would find in a desert (such as is common in Arizona).

Answer: Bailiwick of Jersey

The Open Championship (now known as the British Open) was held at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England, on June 7-8, 1899. Harry Vardon (1870-1937) won the third of his six Open Championships (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914). He also won the US Open in 1900. In the 1899 Open, each player played 36 holes on the first day and those within striking distance of the lead played an additional 36 holes on the second day. As winner, Harry Vardon's share of the purze was 30 pounds.

The picture shows an outline of the US state of New Jersey with the state capital of Trenton marked.

Answer: The majority of matches were draws.

In fact, of the five tests of the series, four ended in draws. The five tests were played in England between June 01 and August 16, 1899 in various locations. The second test was the only match with a victor, with Australia winning by 10 wickets. The Ashes began as a competition between Australia and England in 1882.

The picture shows a pencil which suggests "drawing".

Answer: Adine Masson

The French Open was only open to members of French Tennis Clubs until 1924. Traditionally, the French Open is played in late May and early June. Adine Masson won the Women's Singles Event in 1897, 1898, 1899, 1902, and 1903. She would lose in the final match in 1904. In 1898 and 1899, Masson won automatically as there were no other entrants in her category.

The picture shows a clock at 8:00 and a sun which should suggests 8:00 AM since if it were PM, it would probably be nighttime.

Answer: J. Pierpont Morgan

In 1899, J. Pierpont Morgan sponsored the "Columbia" on behalf of the New York Yacht Club. The "Columbia" defeated the "Shamrock" of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, three races to none. The "Columbia" would successfully defend the America's Cup again in 1901. The United States would win every challenge for the America's Cup from 1851 to 1980, before "Australia II" won in 1983.

The picture shows a bag of money. Although all four were wealthy businessmen, Morgan was directly involved in the world of finance as opposed to Vanderbilt (railroads), Carnegie (steel), and Lipton (tea).