100 Years of Major Leagues Trivia Game | Baseball

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. When Major League Baseball began it all in 1901 with the American and National League, how many teams were there in each separate league?

Answer: 8

In 1899, the National League had 12 teams, and trimmed it down to eight in 1900 to prepare for the merger in 1901. The White Sox won the very first American League pennant in 1901, and the Pirates took the honors for the National League.

2. The first World Series was played in 1903. Which of the following franchises went the longest before they finally won their first World Series?

Answer: Phillies

The Pirates appeared in the first World Series in 1903 in a loss to the Boston Americans. Their first series win would come in 1909 against Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers. The Pirates would win five World Series in the century. The Philadelphia Athletics won three World Series from 1910-1913.

The Dodgers made their first series appearance in 1916 as the Brooklyn Robins in a loss. They would lose six more World Series before bagging their first win in 1955 against the Yankees. The Phillies appeared in two World Series in 1915 and 1950, but came up empty-handed.

They would finally win it all with the help of Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton in 1980.

3. Which American League team/s had a Hall of Fame infielder that won the first four batting titles from 1901-1904 in the name of Nap Lajoie?

Answer: Philadelphia / Cleveland

Nap Lajoie was a Philadelphia Athletic in 1901 where he batted a Major League record .426, a record that would not be touched for over 100 seasons. Believe it not, Nap was granted free agency before the 1902 season, and he signed with the Cleveland Bronchos (later Indians) where he would win three more consecutive batting titles.

He would win one more title in 1910. Lajoie was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1937.

4. Which Major League Baseball National League team was the first to win more than 110 games in a season?

Answer: Chicago Cubs

The Cubs went wild in 1906 with their tremendous defense. This included the famous double-play combination of Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance. The Cubs' third baseman Harry Steinfeldt led the team by batting .327 and banging out 176 hits. The Cubs went 116-36, but would lose to the White Sox in the World Series.

The Phillies would take the lowly honor of being the first National League team to lose 100 games in a season. In 1904, the Phillies went 52-100. In the American League, the Cleveland Indians were the first team to win more than 110 games, but that would not happen until 1954.

5. Which team was the first to appear in 10 World Series?

Answer: New York Giants

The Giants' first World Series came in 1905 with a win against the Athletics. From 1911-1913, the team went to three consecutive World Series, coming up with the 'L' each time. From 1921-1924, they found four more consecutive World Series. Three were against the Yankees and one against the Senators.

The Giants won two of those. The team's 10th series appearance was in 1933 with a winning crown against the Senators. By 1933, even the Yankees (who were not listed) had appeared in only seven World Series.

6. Which team lost a player in the first on-field incident that resulted in a death in Major League history?

Answer: Cleveland Indians

It was in 1920 when 29-year old Indian shortstop Ray Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch from Yankee pitcher Carl Mays. Although Mays was known for throwing a spitball, it was never determined this was the case. The Indians still went on to win their first World Series crown against the Brooklyn Robins (later Dodgers) in that same season.

7. When the Major Leagues began in 1901, which team was the first one to move to another city?

Answer: Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers skipped town after the 1901 season and moved to St. Louis to become the Browns. Their dismal franchise stayed in St. Louis, going to only one World Series in 1944, then moved to Baltimore to become the Orioles in 1954.

8. In a very balanced decade of the 1980s, which team appeared in the most World Series?

Answer: St. Louis Cardinals

The others listed appeared in only one World Series in the decade, the same as the Yankees. The Cardinals went to the promised land in 1982, 1985, and 1987, winning only the first one. The Athletics, Dodgers, Phillies, and Royals all appeared in two.

9. When the Major Leagues came to be in 1901, how many National League teams moved to different cities within the first 50 seasons?

Answer: 0

The National League teams were pretty well established, beginning their league endeavors in 1876. No teams moved until until 1957 when the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee, then the Dodgers and Giants in 1958 from New York to California.

10. Which National League team in the 20th Century won the most World Series crowns?

Answer: Cardinals

The Dodger franchise led all National League teams by going to 18 World Series in the century, but could only muster six wins. The Cardinals had gone to 15 in those 100 seasons with nine wins. The Pirates won five with their last win of the century in 1979 against the Orioles. The Braves, even with their five appearances in the 1990s, appeared in nine overall and won only three.

Source: Author Nightmare

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100 Years of Major Leagues Trivia Quiz

What is known as Major League Baseball began with the American and National Leagues in 1901. This all multiple choice quiz is about some of the teams and their first 100 seasons. Have fun. :)

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