Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Baseball fans in 1940 watched a team win 100 games for the first time in the team's history. They also watched them win their first World Series since the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. Which team was this?
2. 1941 would lose a baseball great in the name of Lou Gehrig, who died on June 2 at the age of 37. Fans would also see a team wear plastic batting helmets for the first time. The Brooklyn Dodgers mandated this after two beanings. The fans in amazement, saw Tiger-great Hank Greenberg drafted into military service after playing in only 19 games in the season. He had hit 41 home runs in 1940 to win the home run title. Upon his full season return in 1946, he hit another 44 and won the home run crown again. Which American Leaguer won the home run title in 1941 and 1942 during Greenberg's absence?
3. Fans in 1942 saw something for the first time since the deadball era. Chicago White Sox pitcher Ted Lyons, started 20 games and completed all 20 games in the season. On the other side of the tracks in Chicago, the Cubs finished a dismal 38 games behind NL pennant winner Cardinals. Which former Philadelphia Athletic and Boston Red Sox slugger, was traded to this Cubs team mid-season of 1942?
4. With WWII still in full swing in 1943, the government trying to save on rubber, had Major League baseball use a different compound in their baseballs. The first 11 games of the season resulted in zero home runs, so the leagues pulled out the balls from the 1942 season to use. The season would also see a Phillie name change to the Philadelphia Blue Jays. The season also brought in a new Dodger rookie first baseman. He would go on to play for 18 seasons, mostly as a Dodger, win three consecutive Gold Gloves, and appear in eight all-star games. Who was this Dodger first baseman?
5. 1944 allowed the fans to see the first pitcher in history, be ejected from a game for throwing a spitball. Nels Potter of the St. Louis Browns was the lucky recepient. The St. Louis fans also saw their Browns go to a World Series for the first time in their 44-year history, but lost to which team four games to two?
6. In a goofy twist for the 1945 season, the fans would see the National League's winningest pitcher, the losingest pitcher, runner-up in most bases stolen, and a Boston Red Sox leader in saves, all have the same name of Barrett. None of them were related. Philadelphia fans saw their NL team name change back to Phillies, then finish in last place, 52 games behind. The world had the chance to see a team go from worst to first in history in consecutive seasons, but the Washington Senators lost their bid, finishing 1.5 games behind. Which team kept the Senators from this feat, and represented the American League in the World Series that year?
7. As fans mourned the death of long-time Yankee second baseman Tony Lazzeri in 1946, they also witnessed a new era in a Yankee rookie in the same season. This Yankee great would go on to win three MVPs, be runner-up another two times, be a 15-time all-star, and lead the Yankees to 14 World Series appearances. Who was this Yankee great who played 18 seasons in the pinstripes?
8. The world saw a historical mark in Major League baseball in 1947. Branch Rickey did the signing of a great player. Who was on the other side of the pen that would win the 1947 Rookie of the Year Award?
9. Yankee fans lost more icons in 1948 with the passing of Babe Ruth and pitcher Herb Pennock. Cleveland fans broke every attendance record possible with owner Bill Veeck's fan appreciation nights throughout the 1948 season, which led to the Indians' first World Series appearance in 28 years. Cleveland defeated the Boston Braves four games to two. Who was the Indians' 20-game winner who also won two World Series games?
10. Finishing out the decade in 1949, Yankee announcer Mel Allen uses his famous saying, "How about that!", for the first time in history. How about that to say the least, as the Yankees began a five-season World Series winning streak in 1949. Who was their first victim, and would lose two mores times in this string?
Source: Author
Nightmare
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