California Sports Trivia

1. Major League Baseball didn't arrive on the west coast until 1958, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants relocated to Los Angeles and San Francisco respectively. The two teams opened the 1958 season against each other at which stadium?

From Quiz Sport in California

Answer: Seals Stadium

The first MLB regular season game to take place in the state of California occured on 15th April 15th 1958. The Giants defeated the Dodgers 8-0 at Seals Stadium, their temporary home field. The Giants moved into Candlestick Park two years later, whilst the Dodgers played their home games in the cavernous Coliseum before the opening of Dodger Stadium in 1962.

From Quiz The San Diego Sports Curse

Answer: 1963

The Chargers won the 1963 American Football League Championship. The AFL merged with the NFL in 1970.

From Quiz The San Diego Sports Curse

Answer: 8th

The San Diego Chargers defeated the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game. Eighteen months later, the AFC champions lost David Griggs to a June 1995 car accident. Running back Rodney Culver died in the ValuJet Flight 592 crash on May 11, 1996. On July 1998, linebacker Doug Miller was struck by lightning twice. Center Curtis Whitley died of a drug overdose in May 2008. Five months later, defensive end Chris Mims died from a heart attack. 2011 saw the deaths of defensive tackle Shawn Lee and linebacker Lew Bush to cardiac arrest. On May 2, 2012, Junior Seau died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

From Quiz Sport in California

Answer: Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks were an expansion franchise in 1993-94, and became the first California winners of the Stanley Cup in 2007, defeating the Ottawa Senators by four games to one in the finals. The Kings finally landed their first Stanley Cup in 2012, overcoming the New Jersey Devils 4-2. The Seals were an expansion team in 1967-68, and never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of the play-offs before relocating to Cleveland in 1976.

From Quiz The San Diego Sports Curse

Answer: Ryan Leaf & Leaf

The Colts drafted quarterback Peyton Manning first overall and he would win four MVP awards (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009) and a Super Bowl MVP honor (2005) with the Colts before signing with Denver in 2012. Leaf was drafted second and he would wash out of the league after four years, 14 touchdowns, and 36 interceptions.

From Quiz Sport in California

Answer: Indian Wells

The Indian Wells Masters is one of a handful of non-Grand Slam events in which men and women take part at the same time. The men's tournament was held there for the first time in 1987, when Boris Becker was the winner. The first time the women competed there was in 1989, when Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria emerged victorious.

From Quiz The San Diego Sports Curse

Answer: 1990

Werner bought the team and infamously invited comedian Roseanne Barr to sing the national anthem during the 1992 All-Star game. He also involved the team in many 'fire sales', where he traded veteran players for those with little major league experience. Werner sold the team in 1994. He would later be co-owner of the Boston Red Sox, which earned championships in 2004 and 2007. Among the players Werner traded: Tony Fernandez, 13-game winner Craig Lefferts, All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez, and All-Star first baseman Fred McGriff. Three future players he did not sign were Troy Glaus, Derrek Lee, and Todd Helton.

From Quiz Sport in California

Answer: California & Stanford

The California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal first met on the gridiron in 1892, and have met every year in the "Big Game" since 1919, apart from a short break during World War 2. Perhaps the most famous meeting of the 20th century came in 1982, which was decided by "The Play". Stanford had taken a one point lead on a field goal with just four seconds left; on the ensuing kick-off return, Cal used five lateral passes to score the winning touchdown and earn a disputed 25-20 victory. There was controversy over this due to the fact that members of the Stanford band had entered the field of play thinking that the game was already over!

From Quiz Sport in California

Answer: Skateboarding

Hawk was born in Carlsbad in 1968. He won nine gold medals in the Summer X Games. In 1999, he became the first skater to land a "900", a trick involving two and a half mid-air revolutions.

From Quiz Sport in California

Answer: Golden State Warriors

All four teams listed actually began life in states other than California. The Warriors won two NBA titles in Philadelphia before moving to San Francisco in 1962. A move across the bay to Oakland and a change of name to Golden State followed in 1971, with the franchise's third NBA crown being claimed in 1975. The Kings started off as the Rochester Royals before moving first to Cincinnati then Kansas City, where the Kings nickname was adopted. The franchise settled in Sacramento in 1985. The Lakers won multiple NBA titles in Minneapolis before moving to LA in 1960 and going on to even more success. The Clippers were originally the Buffalo Braves before moving to California in 1978 to become the San Diego Clippers. In 1984, they made the short journey north to Los Angeles.

From Quiz The San Diego Sports Curse

Answer: 1973

The Conquistadors signed Chamberlain as a player-coach, but the Los Angeles Lakers sued to prevent him from playing, as he still had an option year on his contract. The Conquistadors were 37-47 and Chamberlain retired from basketball after the season. San Diego also hosted the Rockets from 1967 to 1971. The team moved to Houston and would win NBA Championships in 1994 and 1995. From 1978 to 1984, San Diego had the Clippers, a team known for its constant mediocrity, losing seasons, and draft failures.

From Quiz Sport in California

Answer: UCLA

The UCLA Bruins dominated men's collegiate basketball in the 1960s/70s. Between 1964 and 1975, they won the National Championship ten times, including seven straight between 1967 and 1973. Wooden, who had joined the Bruins in 1948, retired after the 1975 title triumph. In 1977, the NCAA honored Wooden by inaugurating the John R. Wooden Award for the best college basketball player in the nation.

From Quiz The San Diego Sports Curse

Answer: University of Miami

Trakas missed three field goals in the fourth quarter against the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes as the Aztecs lost 30-28. The Aztecs lost bowl games in 1991 and 1998 before beating Navy 35-14 in the 2010 Pointsettia Bowl.

From Quiz Sport in California

Answer: Al Davis

The Oakland Raiders were one of the original franchises that took part in the AFL's first season in 1960. Davis was appointed head coach in 1962 and, after a brief spell as AFL commissioner in 1966, returned to the team as owner/general manager. He moved the team to Los Angeles in 1982, then back to Oakland in 1995, involving himself in numerous lawsuits with the NFL along the way. Davis passed away in October 2011.

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