Unbelievable But True Sports Events Quiz

Answer: He failed to finish the race

Nero was quite a card. First, he convinced officials to postpone the games for two years, so they would coincide with his planned tour of Greece. Then he paid a huge bribe to all the judges to ensure that anyone who was unwise enough to challenge him would be disqualified.

In the 10-horse chariot race, he fell out of his chariot, and was helped back in by spectators. But a short time later, he fell out again. By this time, his horses were too excited to control. He was awarded the prize anyway, because he claimed he would have been victorious if he had finished the race. You can't argue with logic like that. Nero won five other events at the games, including three new events that he invented himself. And to think we get all hot and bothered about a little steroid use! By the way, Nero died the following year, and the games of 67 AD were declared null and void, and all the statues Nero had erected to commemorate his victories were ordered destroyed by a decree of the Senate.

Answer: Football

None of the Wolverines' games was even close. Their smallest margin of victory was a 21-0 win against Ohio State. The largest was a 128-0 drubbing of Buffalo. They also won the very first Rose Bowl, defeating Stanford 49-0. Amazing as it seems, only three years later, St. Louis University fielded a team that went 11-0, outscoring its opponents 336-0 in the season.

The last NCAA team to go undefeated, untied and unscored upon was Colgate's 1932 squad.

Answer: A base-running error

On April 26, 1931, the Yankees were playing the Washington Senators. Gehrig came to bat in the top of the first inning, with one out and the Yankees' shortstop, Lyn Lary, on first. The "Iron Horse" hit a terrific shot into the deepest part of centerfield.

The ball landed in the stands for a home run, then bounced back out, and was caught by outfielder Harry Rice. Lary, who was running the bases, happened to glance toward the outfield just as Rice caught the ball. Rice, thinking quickly, fired the ball back into infield as if it were still in play. Lary assumed the ball was caught, and that he was out.

He stopped at third, then sauntered into the Yankees dugout. Gehrig, however, continued running and crossed home plate. The umpire ruled that he was out for having passed Lary on the base path.

The play was scored as a triple, instead of a home run, and that's why Gehrig had to share the home run title.

Answer: He stole first base

Herman "Germany" Schaefer was quite a character. A scrappy second baseman, he spent 15 years in the majors, playing for half a dozen teams. On August 4, 1911, he was wearing the uniform of the Washington Senators, and they were playing the Chicago White Sox.

He was on first, with teammate Clyde Milan on third. The Senators tried a "double steal". The runner on first would attempt to steal second base; if he drew a throw from the catcher, his teammate on third would try to steal home. Germany stole second, but the Sox catcher didn't make a throw. So Schaefer promptly ran back to first base, presumably so he could attempt another double steal on the next pitch.

The White Sox protested this unorthodox manner of play, but to no avail (the rules were later changed to make running the bases in "reverse order" illegal).

Answer: A bat

Game 3 of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals has to be one of the most bizarre contests in the history of the game. May 20, 1975 was a warm night in Buffalo - a very warm night. Memorial Auditorium was not air-conditioned, and the temperature on the ice was 90 degrees.

This caused dense fog to be generated; the game had to be stopped 12 times while employees skated around waving blankets to dissipate it. Nevertheless, the Sabres and their opponents, the Philadelphia Flyers, gamely played on, even though at times the visibility was so poor that they couldn't see each other. To top it all off, a bat somehow found its way into the auditorium and began diving at players and spectators alike.

In the third period, while preparing for a face off, Lorentz raised his stick and took a swipe at it.

He somehow manage to hit it, and it lay on the ice for quite a while, because no one wanted to touch a dead bat! Finally, the Flyers' Rick MacLeish picked up the corpse and dumped it in the penalty box. Buffalo won the game, but lost the series in six games.

Answer: Bill Shoemaker

Bill "Willie" Shoemaker was one of the greatest jockeys who ever lived. He won 8833 races during his 40 year career as a jockey, including three Kentucky Derbys. But he'll always be remembered for losing one race. In the 1957 Derby, highly regarded Gallant Man had come from far back to catch Iron Liege.
Just as the horses drew even to each other, Shoemaker stood up, thinking the race was over. He had misjudged the finish line. He immediately realized his mistake, and tried to get his horse back on stride, but it was too late; Iron Liege won in a photo finish by a nose.

Answer: His opponent's mother

McCarthy was fighting another fine young boxer, Tony Wilson, at the Guild Hall in Southampton, England. In the third round, McCarthy knocked Wilson down; when Wilson got back up, McCarthy got Wilson up against the ropes and began beating him mercilessly. Just when it looked like the fight was over, Wilson's 62 year old mother, Minna, jumped into the ring, took off one of her shoes, and began beating McCarthy on the head with it.

The stiletto heel opened a gash on McCarthy's head that eventually took four stitches to close. After Mrs. Wilson had been escorted from the hall, the referee ordered the match to continue. McCarthy refused, since the cut put him at an obvious disadvantage.

The referee, Adrian Morgan, then awarded the match to Wilson on a TKO, declaring that McCarthy had "retired." McCarthy appealed, but the British Boxing Board of Control, in a bizarre ruling, upheld the referee's decision and awarded the fight to Wilson, but also ordered that a rematch be held, without Mrs. Wilson present.

The rematch was scheduled, but never took place. At the last minute, McCarthy withdrew on account of illness. McCarthy's career was never quite the same after the encounter with Minna Wilson. He lost three of his last four fights, and retired in 1994.

Answer: Start an all left-handed lineup

The sinister lineup included forwards Tim Bassett and Al Skinner, guards Robert "Bubbles" Dawkins and Dave Wohl, and center Kim Hughes. It didn't help as the Nets finished 22-60, the worst record in the league in the season.

Answer: Hugh "One Arm" Daily

Hugh Ignatius Daily was born July 17, 1847 in Baltimore, MD. He lost his left hand in a firearm accident as a young man; he wore a special padded glove that fitted on the stump of his left wrist. His statistics for the first few seasons of his career are remarkable.

He won 23 games in 1883 and 28 in 1884. He once struck out 20 batters in a game, a record not equalled until Roger Clemens did it in 1986. In 1883, he pitched a no hitter against the Phillies. In 1884, he pitched four one-hit games, two of them back to back, and struck out 483 batters, putting him in the number three spot all-time for most strikeouts in a season.

His performance declined markedly beginning in 1885, and although he pitched a few more seasons, he never recaptured his old form.

Answer: He was five years old

He was five years, 212 days old to be exact. He used a three-wood to make the shot, and attributed his success to the fact that he was wearing his lucky Burnley FC hat at the time. The oldest golfer to hit a hole-in-one was Elsie McLean, who accomplished the feat on April 5, 2007 at the youthful age of 102.