Chicago's Bragging Rights Trivia Quiz

Answer: Frank Schulte

Schulte won the very first NL MVP Award in 1911 for the Cubs. He won the award over the Giants' Christy Mathewson and the Phillies' Pete Alexander. Frank hit 21 home runs (a large amount in a season back then), had 107 RBIs, and batted .300 in the season. Ty Cobb won the first AL MVP in 1911 by batting .420, 127 RBIs, and hitting only eight home runs.

The others listed never played for any Chicago team.

Answer: They both met each other in each team's first World Series

Ironically, both teams met in the 1906 World Series. The White Sox went 93-58 to win the American League pennant, three games over the second place New York Highlanders (later Yankees). The Cubs had a tremendous record in 1906, going 116-36 in the 152-game season.

They won the National League crown by 20 games over the New York Giants. The White Sox would be successful in this World Series, downing the Cubs four games to two. White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh won two games, and third baseman George Rohe would bat .333 with seven hits and four RBIs.

The White Sox outscored the Cubs by only four runs, 22-18 in the entire series.

Answer: White Sox

Both teams have been fortunate and consistent. The White Sox went 49-102 in 1932, 51-101 in 1948, then 56-106 in 1970. The Cubs would not experience 100 losses in a season until 1962 when they went 59-103, then matched that record again in 1966. These would be the only 100-loss seasons for both teams in the 20th Century.

Answer: Ross Barnes

The only Chicago player in 100 seasons of either team to ever bat over .400 was Ross Barnes to take the NL batting crown in 1876. Ross would take three batting crowns in his career with two in the National Association League, but only one with the Chicago White Stockings (later Cubs) in 1876. The others listed never had the honor of playing for a Chicago team.

Answer: Early Wynn

Wynn won the fourth Cy Young Award presented in 1959 with the White Sox for his 22-10 record. In 1959, the award was still given out to only one pitcher Major League Baseball wide. In 1967, it was separated into an American League and National League award. The others listed all won the Cy Young Award, but more than 10 seasons after Early did for the Cubs.

Answer: 1876

The Chicago White Stockings of the new National League won the first-ever league pennant in 1876. Every starting player who played in over 50 games in the season, batted over .300 for an amazing team average. Even pitcher Al Spalding who started 60 games in the season batted .312, along with finishing the season with a 47-12 record.

There were eight teams in the National League in 1876. The rest of the finishing order in the season were the Hartford Dark Blues, St. Louis Brown Stockings, Boston Red Caps, Louisville Grays, New York Mutuals, Philadelphia Athletics, and the Cincinnati Reds who finished 42.5 games out of first place.

Answer: Hack Wilson

Wilson was the second Major League player in history, behind Babe Ruth to hit 50 in a season. In 1930, Hack of the Cubs hit 56 to lead the league. The Cubs still finished in second place behind the Pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals. Wilson hit 244 home runs over 12 seasons, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.

The other Chicago players listed never hit 50 home runs in a season during their careers.

Answer: Luis Aparicio

Aparicio was a White Sox shortstop, and played every game of his career at that position. Luis set a Major League record of 2581 games at one position from 1956-1973. In addition to his rookie award, he was the runner-up MVP in 1959 to teammate Nellie Fox, and pitching teammate Early Wynn who finished third in the balloting also. Luis retired in 1973, then was a hall inductee in 1984.

The others listed never played for a Chicago team.

Answer: Jimmy Dykes

Cap Anson was Chicago's first big long-term manager. He led the NL Chicago franchise for 19 seasons from 1879-1897. Dykes had the White Sox for 12 consecutive seasons from 1935-1946. Jimmy could not take the team to a better than third place finish. He was replaced by Ted Lyons in mid-season 1946. The other managers listed never managed the Cubs or the White Sox franchise.

Answer: 10

The Cubs were strong early on. Their first appearance was in 1906 in a loss. Their following appearances were wins in 1907 and 1908, then losses in 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945. Their 1945 loss to the Tigers would be unfortunately, their last appearance in a World Series in the 20th Century.