Great Athletes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sonny Liston

Muhammad Ali often called himself "The Greatest" and he backed it up with his fists. Ali won the world title for the first time on February 25, 1964, defeating Sonny Liston in seven rounds. He would beat Liston again in May 1965, solidifying his hold on the title.

Liston had beaten Paterson to win the title, and Ali defeated Paterson in November 1965, and again in September 1972. Ali beat former champion Archie Moore in November 1962. Ali won the title for the second time from George Foreman in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in October 1974. He regained the title for a third time in September 1978 by beating Leon Spinks.

Ali's career record was 56-5 with 37 knockouts. Ultimately, Ali's biggest opponent was outside the ring: the United States government. Ali refused to serve in Vietnam based on his religious convictions and as a result was stripped of the heavyweight title in March 1966. In June 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously sided with Ali and overturned his conviction for draft evasion.

Answer: 3239

The number is 3239 (2857 regular season points and 382 playoff points). Gretzky was the first player in the history of hockey to score over 2000 regular season points. This is only one of many records Gretzky set during his career. He also holds the longest scoring streak in NHL history (51 straight games), three consecutive seasons with over 200 points and scored 50 goals in only 39 games.

1963 is the number of career assists Gretzky scored. 894 is the number of regular season goals he scored in the NHL.

Answer: Wimbledon

Federer's first Grand Slam win was Wimbledon in 2003, when he defeated Mark Philippousis. He became dominant in 2004, winning three Grand Slams (Australian, Wimbledon and US). Over the course of his career, Federer won 20 Grand Slams (8 Wimbeldon, 6 Australia, 5 US opens and only 1 French Open). Federer was #1 for 237 consecutive weeks (almost five years).

Federer's Olympic record is more mixed. He did win a silver medal against Andy Murray in the 2012 games in London. He failed to medal in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

Answer: 23

Michael Phelps has a total of 23 gold medals: eight from Beijing 2008, six from Athens 2004, four at London 2012 and five at Rio 2016. He has 13 gold medals in individual events.

He is the most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 medals, including 3 silver and 2 bronze. He is without question the greatest swimmer of all time and one of the greatest athletes of all time. Phelps was a swimming prodigy, breaking the world record in the 200m butterfly before he was 16 years old. He would break numerous other world records (usually his own) over the next 15 years.

Answer: US Open

Serena's first major win was the 1999 US Open, when she was 17 years old. In 2002-2003, she won a career grand slam, winning all four majors. Over the course of her career, she won 23 Grand Slam titles (7 Australian Opens, 3 French Opens, 7 Wimbledons and 6 US opens). Eight of those victories were against her older sister Venus.

Venus and Serena Williams won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, and are arguably the greatest doubles team in the history of tennis. Serena was ranked #1 for an amazing 319 weeks and was the number one ranked player in the world five years. The Williams sisters are the subject of the Academy Award winning film "King Richard" (2021) which chronicles the girl's early careers and the coaching of their father.

Answer: Sweden

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022) is widely regarded as the greatest football (soccer) player of all time, and one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. He became a professional with Santos at the age of 16, and was on the Brazilian national team by 18. He helped Brazil defeat Sweden (the host country) to win the 1958 World Cup.

Answer: St. Louis Rams

Brady's first Super Bowl was Super Bowl XXVI (2002) in which the New England Patriots beat St. Louis 20-17. Brady won five more Super Bowls with New England (2004, 2005, 2015, 2017 and 2019) and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2021). He was the first player to play in ten Super Bowls, winning seven of them and being named Most Valuable Player five times.

He set numerous passing records, and is widely considered the greatest Quarterback in the history of the NFL.

Answer: 660

There is a debate over who was greater, Babe Ruth or Willie Mays. But there is no question that 24 time all-star Mays was one of the greatest players ever. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 (his first year of eligibility). He spent most of his career with the Giants (in New York and later San Francisco), before spending his last year with the Mets. In almost 3000 career games, Mays scored 2062 runs and 660 home runs. His number 24 was retired by both the Giants and Mets.

Ken Griffey hit 630, Jim Thome hit 612 and Mark McGwire hit 583.

Answer: Nowhere

LeBron James was drafted straight out of high school as the first draft pick of 2003, by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since James had grown up in Akron, Cleveland was his hometown team. He played with Cleveland from 2003 to 2010 before making a controversial move to Miami. James won his first two championships in Miami (2012, 2013), then returned to Cleveland and won the championship in 2016 and then moved to Los Angeles in 2018, helping the Lakers win the championship in 2020.

James is often compared with Michael Jordan in the debate over who is the greatest player. James started off as rookie of the year, and has been an all-star almost every season he was in the NBA.

Answer: US Open

Nicklaus won the 1962 US Open, beating Arnold Palmer and setting up a rivalry that would last the next decade. He would go on to win 18 major championships over the course of his career - 6 Masters, 5 PGA Championships, 4 US Opens and 3 British Opens. Nicklaus, Palmer and Tiger Woods are the three names most associated with GOAT in the sport of golf.