1950s All-American Sports Trivia Quiz

Answer: Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson was born in Texas in 1911. She was called the "female Jim Thorpe" for her ability to excel in a wide array of athletic endeavors. At the 1932 Amateur Athletic Union Championships Babe placed in seven events: 1st in the high jump, shot put, javelin, baseball throws, eighty-meter hurdles, and long jump and 4th in discus throw.

She broke world records at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles in the hurdles and javelin and took the silver medal in the high jump. Turning to golf, she won an astonishing 55 tournaments in a relatively short 15-year career, 17 of them consecutively.

In 1999, Babe was named second to Olympic pentathalete Jackie Joyner Kersee as Female Athlete of the Century by Sports Illustrated magazine. Mrs. Zaharias died of colon cancer in 1956.

Answer: Ralph Branca

This moment in baseball history is probably better known to most fans for the often repeated radio broadcast of a shocked Giants' play-by-play announcer Russ Hodges who cried, "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" Bobby Thomson, a native of Glasgow Scotland, was nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot".

Answer: He was recalled to active duty as a naval pilot in the Korean War

Williams, like many other soldiers who were recalled for service in a second war, was resentful that inactive pilots were taken before those in active reserve. During this time he served as wingman to fellow naval pilot John Glenn. When he returned to the Red Sox in August, 1953 he batted .407 for the remainder of the season and had 13 home runs.

His play was affected by age and injuries for the remainder of his career, but he finished on top, hitting a home run his last time at-bat in 1960, a phenomenal feat for a 42-year old player who had twice missed years of play to serve his country. NBC sportsman Bob Costas said of Williams, that his prowess not only at the plate but also as a fisherman and naval hero made him the kind of character who would have been played by John Wayne, to which Williams is said to have simply replied, "Yea, I know".

Answer: Win all four Grand Slam tennis matches in a calendar year

Maureen Connolly Brinker (1934 - 1969) was the the second person, after Don Budge, to win all four Grand Slam tennis events, Wimbledon, US, French and Australian Opens in the same year. She won the US Championship (now the US Open) at the age of 16, which at the time made her the youngest woman to have done so.

She has held the record (tied with Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court and Budge) for the most consecutive Grand Slam wins at 6. "Little Mo's" career was cut short by a horse riding accident in 1955, and she died of cancer when she was just 34.

Answer: A goal, an assist, and a fight in one game

A hat-trick is performing a feat three times. According to the "Dallas Morning News", the term for a hockey hat-trick was coined in the 1940s when a Toronto mens wear store owner gave a free hat to any member of the Maple Leafs who scored three goals in one game.

It most likely evolved from a similar term used in cricket. It's now tradition in hockey for the fans to throw their own hats on to the ice as a show of respect when a player scores three goals. Gordie Howe was known for not only his scoring prowess and the longevity of his career, but also for the ferocity of his play.

He officially recorded only two "Gordie Howe Hat Tricks" himself because opposing players were reluctant to challenge him after he pummeled Lou Fontinato of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in 1959.

Answer: Howard "Hopalong" Cassady

Cassady is said to have received "Hopalong" tag while a freshman at Ohio State. A local sportswriter wrote that in his first game, "he hopped all over the field like the performing cowboy", the comic book cowboy 'Hopalong Cassidy' made famous by actor William Boyd in films of the 1930s-40s.
In addition to being named an All-American while playing for the Buckeyes, Cassady also lettered in baseball. In his official Heisman.com biography, he is said to have won by the largest margin at the time, beating out fellow gridiron great Paul Hornung.

Answer: University of San Francisco

1956 was a very good year for Bill Russell. He was the captain of both his USF championship squad and the gold medal-winning Olympic team, as well being chosen as the #2 NBA draft pick. His USF coach Phil Woolpert was the first major college basketball coach to start three African-Americans: Russell, future NBA Hall of Famer K.C. Jones and Hal Perry. Russell was known for his speed and footwork. He is credited with keeping the eventual #1 draft pick of 1956, Tom Heinsohn, scoreless for an entire half.
Heinsohn led another Jesuit powerhouse, Holy Cross, and like Russell was drafted by the Boston Celtics. In 1950, the Celtics had picked up Holy Cross standout and future NBA star Bob Cousy.
2009 NBA Hall of Fame inductee John Stockton was an All-American at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, which also claims first-round draft picks Dan Dickau, Adam Morrison and Austin Daye among its alumni, as well as second-round draftee Ronny Turiaf. In addition to Jones and Russell, USF was the home team for All Americans Bill Cartwright, Mike Farmer, Quintin Dailey and Winford Boynes. St. John's is a Catholic university (Vincentian order) in Queens, New York whose notable players include Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, Bill Wennington, George L. Johnson, and Mark Jackson.

Answer: Frisbee

The first "flying discs" are said to be empty pie tins from the Frisbie Baking Company, first used in the 1870s on college campuses in the northeastern US. Yale claims the credit for originating the sport of throwing a pie plate and shouting "Frisbie" but this fact is disputed. A plastic version of the pie platter or disc, called the 'Pluto Platter' in reference to the planet, was patented in the 1940s and capitalized on the growing interest in sci-fi and UFOs in particular that sprang up during the time.

The Wham-O Company bought the patent rights to the Pluto Platter, renamed it the 'Frisbee' and began mass production with heavy television advertising in 1957.

Answer: Jockey

Bill Hartack, who is said to have disliked the name 'Willie' as it reminded him of his better known rival, Willie Shoemaker, won the Kentucky Derby five times. At the time of Hartack's death in 2007 this feat was equalled only by Eddie Arcaro. Hartack twice won two out of the three races of the Triple Crown, winning the Preakness a total of three times and the Belmont Stakes once.

When he was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1959 at the age of 26 he was the youngest jockey to be so honored.

Answer: "Gorgeous George" Wagner

Professional wrestler Gorgeous George was one of television's original superstars. At a time when most athletes were of the buttoned-down type, he died his hair platinum blond and wore it in a wave of curls. Known as "The Gorgeous One" and "The Human Orchid" Wagner is credited with originating the self-aggrandizing trash talk that now defines much of professional sports, and with saving the dying sport of wrestling.

His stunts like arriving at arenas in a purple Cadillac, wearing pink satin & ermine and being preceeded by a personal valet spraying the ground with perfume brought attention to not just himself but to all of wrestling. George played dirty and the fans loved it, paving the way for the next generation of wrestlers who reaped the benefits of his flamboyance like Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper and The Rock. In addition to Ali, Gorgeous George was admired by singers James Brown and Bob Dylan, who claimed in his book 'Chronicles: Volume One' that he was "inspired for years to come" after meeting George in Hibbing, Minn.