Oklahoma Sports Trivia Quiz

Answer: Howard Twilley

Howard Twilley of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was with the 1972 Miami Dolphins when they won Super Bowl VII (14-7) on Januaty 14, 1973. This was the last Super Bowl to be played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and the last Super Bowl to be blacked out in the city where the game was played. Tony Casillas also from Tulsa, was a defensive tackle with the Dallas Cowboys when they won consecutive Super Bowls in 1993 and 1994.

After attending Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, John Kolb from Owasso, became an offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1970s. Brian "The Boz" Bosworth from Oklahoma City, played linebacker for Barry Switzer at the University of Oklahoma (1984-1986) and for Chuck Knox with the Seattle Seahawks from 1987 to 1989.

Answer: Steve Owen

Steve Owen, born April 21, 1898 in the Oklahoma Territory was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and head coach for the NY Giants (1930-1953). Innovative defenses, like his A Formation were the key to his success. Lee Roy Selmon (October 20, 1954) of Eufaula was the first player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Baltimore Colts' Billy Vessels, from Cleveland, Oklahoma, was Oklahoma's first Heisman trophy winner (1952). University of Texas football coach and Hall of Famer Darrell K. Royal of Hollis, Oklahoma (July 6, 1924), was on the most successful football coaches in terms of wins in Longhorn history.

Answer: J.C. Watts

Julius Caesar "J.C." Watts of Eufaula, Oklahoma, played quarterback for the University of Oklahoma. After graduation he played for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League before going into politics. Born Stephen Michael Largent in Tulsa, he was an All-American at the University of Tulsa and played 14 years for the Seattle Seahawks.

In the 1990s he went into politics. Terry Brown was an All-American at Oklahoma State University before joining the Minnesota Vikings. Lloyd James "Little Poison" Waner of Harrah, Oklahoma, played centerfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates and entered the baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.

Answer: Alvin Ralph Dark

"The Swamp Fox," Alvin Dark of Comanche, Oklahoma, went into team management at the close of his playing career. He had a pennant-win in 1962 with the National League San Francisco Giants and a World Series championship with the Oakland A's (1974) of the American League. Joe Carter from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was most famous for hitting a three-run walk-off home run in 1993 to win the World Series.

Born in Oklahoma City (1947), Johnny Bench was instrumental to "The Big Red Machine," the name given to the Cincinnati team that won consecutive World Series in 1975 and 1976. Nicknamed "Big Poison", Paul Waner from Harrah, Oklahoma, had only one Pirates' season averaging less than .300.

This was 1938 when management had requested that he stop drinking.

Answer: Mickey Mantle

Mickey Charles Mantle, born October 20, 1931, in Spavinaw, set a career record for the most World Series home runs at 18. He also set records for runs, walks, and total bases, amongst other records. Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Bobby Ray Murcer (May 20, 1946) followed Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio in playing centerfield for the New York Yankees.

He made the all-star teams in 1971-72-73-74 in the American League, and 1975 in the National League. He also won a Gold Glove Award in 1972. Outfielder and first baseman Wilver Dornel "Pops" Stargell from Earlsboro, took the Pittsburgh Pirates to six National League East division titles, two National League pennants, and two World Series Championships in 1971 and 1979.

As a player for the St. Louis Cardinals, Johnny Leonard Roosevelt"Pepper" Martin, of Temple Oklahoma, had the third highest World Series career batting average ever at .418 when he played.

As a manager, the "Wild Horse of the Osage" might be best remembered for choking an umpire, was fined and suspended for this.

Answer: Dax Johnston

The 1997 Jack Nicklaus College Player of the Year, Dax Johnston, from Yukon, was named head coach to the U.S. team competing in the Toyota World Junior Team Championship in Japan (June 2006). The 1986 PGA Champion Robert Raymond "Bob" Tway, botn in Oklahoma City, made his PGA debut in 1981. Dale McNamara began the women's golf team at Tulsa University with an extremely low budget, a desk in the hall, and five freshman players.

She not only led TU to four National Championships, but was instrumental in women's golf teams having matching uniforms and golf bags. Following in her mother's footsteps, Melissa McNamara coached TU for a short time prior to joining the staff of Arizona State as the head coach of the Sun Devil women's golf program.

Answer: John Smith

John Smith of Oklahoma City is regarded as one of the top freestyle wrestlers of all-time. He won six straight World/Olympic Gold medals from 1987-1992. Coach Arnold W. Umbach of Weatherford coached eight state high school wrestling champions. He began the Southeastern Inter-collegiate Wrestling Association and has served as President of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

He has been named to the United States Wrestling Federation's, National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Olympic medalist Kenny Monday hails from Tulsa Oklahoma.

He took gold in Seoul (1988) and silver in Barcelona (1992). University of Oklahoma Coach Mark Williams had certainly taken his own share of awards, including NCAA Coach of the Year three times.

Answer: Wayman Lawrence Tisdale

Raised in Tulsa, Wayman Lawrence Tisdale was an Olympic Gold Medalist in basketball, and played pro ball for 12 years in Indiana, Sacramento, and Phoenix. In 1997, he left basketball to play Jazz guitar. "Power Forward" (1995) and "Hang Time" (2004) are two of his albums. Don Haskins from Enid,Oklahoma was the assistant coach in the 1972 Summer Olympics, but is perhaps better known as the first college basketball coach to play an all-black starting lineup.

This occurred during the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Once considered "too slow, too small, and too deliberate" while playing at Georgia Tech, Mark Price, of Bartlesville, played for the Mavericks, Cavaliers, Bullets, Warriors and Magic.

Answer: Jim Shoulders

Henrietta cowboy Jim Shoulders had won a total of 16 World Championship titles in rodeo: (5) All Around World Champion,; (7) Bull Riding; (4) Bareback Riding. His name is listed in the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, and the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame in New York City.

Answer: Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe

Curtis McClinton was the first player to make a Super Bowl touchdown during Super Bowl I William Frederick "Bill" Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill was famous for his Wild West Show. Charles Francis "Charlie" Colcord was a US Maesgal and Oklahoma rancher during the "Wild West." Jim Thorpe is probably best known for winning Olympic Gold in decathlon and pentathlon in 1913 and having his medals taken away on a technicality. (The medals were returned in 1983) In 1950 he was named the best football player and the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. And in 1986, the Jim Thorpe Award, for best college defensive back, was established. When he died of a heart attack in 1953, he was buried in buried in the small town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania (originally named Mauch Chunk).

His life story is told in "Jim Thorpe: All-American" a 1951 film starring Burt Lancaster.