Canadian, Ballplayer, or Dead Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dead before 60

One of the best young drivers in NASCAR in the late 1980's and early 90's, Davey Allison was born in Hueytown, Alabama on February 25, 1961, the day before his father Bobby made his first start at the Daytona 500. In 1988, Davey and Bobby finished the Daytona 500 neck and neck, Bobby finally pulling ahead in the last moments to win the race. Davey would finally get his only Daytona victory in 1992, though he did have a total of 19 Winston Cup wins. Davey was killed on July 12, 1993 when his helicopter crashed near the Talladega Superspeedway.

He was 32 years old.

Answer: All three

Fowler was born March 30, 1921 in Toronto, Ontario. A right handed pitcher, he made his major league debut with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1941, pitching in 4 games and ending the season with a 1-2 record. He played with the A's from 1941 to 1952, winning a career high 15 games in 1948, and matching that number in 1949. Fowler died May 22, 1972 at the age of 51.

Answer: Canadian

Oscar was born August 25, 1925 in Montreal, Quebec. A Jazz pianist, Oscar began learning the piano and the trumpet from his father at the age of five. The piano would be his destiny, playing it to win first place in a contest on a Montreal radio show at the age of 15.

He played with several different trios over the years, but he would find his greatest success on his own, winning seven Grammy Awards between 1974 and 1991.

Answer: All three

Joe was born September 1, 1921 in Vibank, Saskatchewan. He played only part of 2 years in the majors, appearing in 32 games with the Chicago White Sox in 1950 and 1951. In his brief career, he put together a .186 lifetime batting average with one RBI. He died October 6, 1976 in Portland, Oregan at the age of 56.

Answer: Ballplayer

Al was born June 28, 1941 in Trenton, New Jersey. Making his debut with the New York Yankees in 1961, Downing was never more than a mediocre pitcher for the Yanks through the rest of the decade. The Yankees traded him to the Oakland A's in 1970, who shipped him off to the Milwaukee Brewers before mid-season.

A switch to the National League in 1971 with the Los Angeles Dodgers seemed to be what the left hander needed. Dodger fans watched him win 20 games while posting career highs in innings pitched and complete games.

His success, however, was short lived. In 1972 he fell to a 9-9 record, and again went 9-9 in 1973. It would be the closest he would come to double digits in the win column for the rest of his career, which ended in 1977. Downing is best remembered as the pitcher that gave up Hank Aaron's 715th homerun in 1974, which broke Babe Ruth's all time homerun record.

In 2003, Downing began working along side Aaron when he took a front office position with the Atlanta Braves.

Answer: Canadian

James was born March 3, 1920 in Vancouver, British Columbia. For fans of a certain television show who consider him a legend, this was an easy answer. For those that don't know, I am talking about his timeless role as Damon Warwick on the daytime soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" from 1993 to 1998. Oh, by the way, he also played Scotty on "Star Trek".

Answer: Canadian

Paul was born July 30, 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario. In 1956, Paul left for New York with only $100 in his pocket and dreams of making it in the music business in his head. Unlike countless dreamers who have tried the same thing over the years, Anka quickly made an impression on producer Don Costa who hired him to record "Diana". That song topped the charts and sold over 10 million copies, helping Anka skyrocket to fame. Most of his success was to come as a songwriter rather than a performer, composing hits like "Puppy Love" for Annette Funicello and "My Way" for Frank Sinatra.

He is probably most often recognized as the composer of the theme song for Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show".

Answer: Dead before 60

Ernie was born January 23, 1919 in Trenton, New Jersey. One of the most popular comedians on television in the 1950s, Kovacs was considered to be ahead of his time. Unlike many comedians of that era who were inspired by Vaudeville and other stage acts, Ernie's visual style of comedy was designed to be watched on television, the reason he was opposed to having a live audience for his shows. Rarely seen without a cigar in his hand, some believe he was trying to light one while driving when he lost control of his Chevrolet Corvair and skidded into a telephone pole. Kovacs died in the accident on January 13, 1962, ten days before his 43rd birthday.

Answer: Ballplayer

Lou was born July 17, 1917 in Harvey, Illinois. A shortstop, Lou made his first major league appearance in 1938 for the Cleveland Indians. By 1940, he was one of the best young ballplayers in the majors, hitting .295 and driving in 101 runs that season. Only 24 years old in 1942, he became player/manager for the Indians, eventually leading them to a World Series victory in 1948. Lou was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1951 where he was also named player/manager for the 1952 season.

After retiring as a player, he stayed on as manager for the Red Sox through 1954.

He also managed the Kansas City A's from 1955 to 1957, and the Chicago Cubs in 1960. Nicknamed "The Good Kid", Lou was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1970. He died August 10, 2001 at age 84.

Answer: All three

John was born in 1858 in Nova Scotia. A pitcher, John played briefly for the 1882 St. Louis Brown Stockings, appearing in three games that year. Despite a respectable ERA of 2.62, Doyle was the losing pitcher in all three of the games in which he appeared. He died in Providence, Rhode Island on December 24, 1915 at the age of 57.