Old-Timer Baseball Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stan Musial

Stan Musial (November 21, 1920) was born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial. He played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 to 1963. In 22 years he was a 24 time All-Star selection (for part of the 1960s there were two games a year). Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, also the home town of Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. Musial for his career had 3630 hits, 475 home runs, and three World Series championships.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.

Answer: Warren Spahn

Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 to November 24, 2003) pitched for the Braves, both in Boston and Milwaukee (1942, 1946-1964), New York Mets (1965) and the San Francisco Giants (1965).
Spahn was very consistent winning 20 games each in 13 seasons. Spahn explained pitching this way: "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing".
Spahn could also hit, hitting at least one home run in 17 straight seasons, and 35 for his career.
He finished his career with a win-loss record of 363-245 with a 3.09 earned run average and 2583 strikeouts.

Answer: Freddie Fitzsimmons

Frederick Landis Fitzsimmons (July 28, 1901 to November 18, 1979) pitched from 1925 to 1943 with the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers. Fitzsimmons led the National League in shutouts in 1935, holding opponents scoreless in all 4 of his victories. His career win-loss record was 217-146 with an earned run average of 3.51 and 870 strikeouts.
The Dodgers traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in the middle of the 1943 season, and they made him their manager. As a manager, he lasted until mid-1945. His teams won 105 games against 181 losses.

Answer: Rudy York

Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams (August 30, 1918 to July 5, 2002) was known as a left fielder who played his entire Hall of Fame career with the Boston Red Sox. He pitched two innings in one game on August 24, 1940. Williams pitched the last two frames in a 12-1 loss to Detroit.

He allowed one earned run, three hits, and struck out one batter His ERA was 4.50 in his only pitching appearance. Preston Rudolph York (August 17, 1913 to February 5, 1970) played first base for the Detroit Tigers (1934, 1937-45), Boston Red Sox (1946-47), Chicago White Sox (1947), and Philadelphia Athletics (1948).

He had a .275 batting average and 277 home runs in his career.

Answer: Schoolboy Rowe

Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe (January 11, 1910 to January 8, 1961) pitched for the Detroit Tigers (1932-42), Brooklyn Dodgers (1942) and Philadelphia Phillies (1943, 1946-49). He compiled a win-loss record of 158-101 with an earned run average of 3.87 and 913 strikeouts. Rowe earned his nickname while playing on an adult team while still in school, he was 15. Rowe contributed to the Tigers success in 1934 by winning 16 games in a row. During the streak he was asked what his secret was.

He responded that he would, "Just eat a lot of vittles, climb on that mound, wrap my fingers around the ball and say to it, Edna, honey, let's go". Edna was his beloved wife. An excellent hitting pitcher, he hit for a .303 batting average and had 8 doubles, 2 home runs, and 22 RBIs in 109 at-bats in 1934.

Answer: Paul O'Dea

Pete Gray (March 6, 1915 to June 30, 2002) was an outfielder for the St. Louis Browns. Playing just one year, 1945, Grey had a batting average of .218 in 77 games, with a .958 fielding percentage in centerfield.
Paul O'Dea (July 3, 1920 to December 11, 1978) was an outfielder for the Cleveland Indians in in 1944 and 1945. He was mainly an outfielder, but pitched in four games with no record and a 5.68 earned run average. As a hitter, his career batting average was .272.

Answer: Eddie Collins and Ty Cobb

Edward Trowbridge Collins, Sr. (May 2, 1887 to March 25, 1951), player second base from 1906 to 1930 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox. His career totals are; 3,315 hits in 9,949 at bats for a .333 batting average. There are still some people who call Collins the best second baseman of all-time, setting records for career games at second base with 2650, 7630 assists, and total chances of 14,591. Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18, 1886 to July 17, 1961), played outfield for the Detroit Tigers (1905-1926) and the Philadelphia Athletics (1927-1928). During his playing days, he amassed 4189 hits (.367 batting average) and 1939 runs batted in.

He has been called the best player of the dead-ball era and as one of the greatest players of all-time. Cobb's accomplishments as a player has been overshadowed by his temperament and aggressive playing style.

Answer: Arlie Latham

Walter Arlington Latham (March 15, 1860 to November 29, 1952) was a third baseman 1880-1909, playing for the St. Louis Browns. When he played he would stand on the third base line and try to distract the opposing pitcher, attempting to give his team an advantage.

In 1907, John McGraw, the New York Giants manager, hired Latham as their third base coach. Latham tried to do the same things in New York as he had done years earlier in St. Louis. His antics caused the introduction of the 'coaches box.' Latham was the oldest man to steal a base in a Major League game, accomplishing the feat at age 49 (some sources cite this at age 50).

He still had the dubious honor of committing 822 errors at third base.

Answer: True

Estel Crayton Crabtree (August 19, 1903 to January 4, 1967) was born in Crabtree, Ohio. He played outfield for the Cincinnati Reds (1929, 1931-32, and 1943-44) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1933 and 1941-42). In eight seasons, Estel played in 489 games with a .281 batting average.

Answer: Art Nehf

Arthur Neukom Nehf (July 31, 1892 to December 18, 1960) pitched for fifteen 15 seasons. He played for the Boston Braves (1915-1919), New York Giants (1919-1926), Cincinnati Reds (1926-1927), and the Chicago Cubs (1927-1929). His consecutive years of World Series wins came for the Giants from 1921 to 1924. He also won back to back seventh games in the World Series in 1921 and 1922. Nehf compiled 184 wins and 120 losses with a 3.20 earned run average.