Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The century began with the dismal Pittsburgh Pirates, who for five seasons could not finish better than sixth. However, at the end of the 1899 season, a team folded. Most of those greats joined the 1900 Pittsburgh Pirates and things started to change. A second place finish in 1900, the National League title in 1901, etc. Which was the team that went defunct, and had players play for the 1900 Pirates?
2. In 1901, fans saw the beginning of a new league called the American League. They watched the first AL game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Blues. Over in the National League they saw the Pittsburgh Pirates win their first National League crown. They also watched the worst team in baseball finish with a 52-87 record, the team's worst record in franchise history. Which team was this that finished in last place, 38 games behind the pennant winning Pittsburgh Pirates?
3. 1902 saw the Pirates win their second consecutive National League title. Pitcher Jack Chesbro led the league with 28 wins, and third baseman Tommy Leach led the league with home runs. How many did Leach hit?
4. The fans in 1903 mourned the loss of Washington Senator, Ed Delahanty, who fell off Niagara Falls and was killed. 1903 also showed baseball fans the first moving pictures of a baseball game. It featured Nap Lajoie and Harry Bay of the Cleveland Naps. Fans also witnessed a new creation called the World Series. The National League winner against the American League winner went head-to-head. Which team won the first World Series game in history?
5. 1904 brought baseball fans the first team to ever win 106 games in a season. It was the New York Giants with the 106-47 record. However, there was no World Series in 1904. The fans still saw a great display of hitting, when Nap Lajoie of Cleveland took the American League batting crown, hitting .376. They also saw a record that would stand throughout the entire 20th century. A pitcher won 41 games in the season! Who finished the 1904 season with a record of 41-12?
6. 1905 saw the creation of a contraption called the 'pneumatic head protector'. A New York Giant catcher invented what would later be called the batting helmet. He did this after being hit earlier in the season by a pitch. The world also saw a rookie by the name of Ty Cobb. It was also the year that the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, four games to one, in the first best-of-seven World Series play. Unfortunately, 1905 also saw a team finish 56.5 games behind the Giants. This pathetic team was the Superbas. What city were they from?
7. The 1906 Chicago Cubs would win the National League, and appear in their first of three consecutive World Series. The team astounded fans by winning a record 116 games in the season. Offensively, they were led by third baseman Harry Steinfeldt. Defensively they had the famous, "Tinkers to Evers to Chance", double-play combination. With all this going for the team, they still lost the World Series to which team?
8. In 1907, after a commission's findings, baseball officially gave credit to Abner Doubleday for first inventing baseball in 1839. 1907 also saw the Detroit Tigers go to their first World Series. In addition to that, a Tiger led the league in hits, batting average, stolen bases, singles, total bases, RBIs, and slugging percentage, but did not win any award for it. Who was this great?
9. 1908 saw another Cubs-Tigers World Series with the same results as the previous season, the Cubs winning another one. It was also the year that George Baird invented the first electric scoreboard, which recorded balls, strikes, and runs. 1908 also had a game that butted St. Louis against Brooklyn. What happened in this game, that would never happen again in history?
10. To finish out the decade in 1909, baseball fans saw the Pirates win the World Series against the Tigers. They also looked in amazement as they watched the first officially documented unassisted triple-play by Cleveland's Neal Ball. It was also the first time in history that an American Leaguer won the batting triple crown. Who was it?
Source: Author
Nightmare
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