1961 Year in Review Trivia Quiz

Answer: Y. A. Tittle

Yelberton Abraham Tittle was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971. He is a seven time Pro Bowler and a four time All-Pro. The 1961 game was the first championship game played in Green Bay. Bart Starr played at quarterback position for Green Bay. The Baltimore Colts' quarterback was John Unitas and the Chicago Bears had Bill Wade at the position. Tittle played for the Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers before playing for the New York Giants. Tittle was traded after the 1960 season when the 49ers decided to use Brodie as their starting quarterback. During a 17-year career Tittle passed for 33,070 yards and 242 touchdowns.

He received the NFL Most Valuable Player Award twice. On January 1, 1961, The Houston Oilers won the first championship of the newly formed AFL by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers. Alabama was the national college champion and The University of Washington won the Rose Bowl.

Answer: Adolf Eichmann

Adolf Eichmann rose quickly through the German ranks because of his organizational skills. He was eventually considered to be the architect of the holocaust. After the war he traveled to Argentina by using a fraudulently obtained passport issued by the International Red Cross.

He resided there under a false identity working for Mercedes-Benz until 1960. He was captured by Israeli agents in Argentina then tried and convicted in the Israeli court in 1961 on fifteen criminal charges including crimes against humanity and war crimes.

He was sentenced to be hanged. Rudolf Hess was sentenced to life imprisonment. Josef Mengele fled to Argentina and died in Brazil in 1979. Klaus Barbie was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 and died after serving four years.

Answer: Splendor in the Grass

Warren Beatty started his acting career making appearances on television series such as "Studio One", "Playhouse 90" and "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis". He made his film debut in 1961 opposite Natalie Wood in "Splendor in the Grass" directed by Elia Kazan. Beatty was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Motion Picture Actor for his appearance in the successful movie. Natalie Wood was nominated for Best Actress for "Splendor in the Grass" and again in 1963 for "Love with the Proper Stranger". "Bonnie and Clyde" featured Beatty with Faye Dunaway in 1967. "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" is a 1961 British motion picture made by Seven Arts-Warner Bros pairing Beatty with Vivien Leigh. If you preferred to watch television instead of going to the movies a color set would cost around $495, approximately one-tenth of the average annual salary.

Answer: Spencer Tracy

"Judgment at Nuremberg" is a fictionalized account of the post-World War Two Nuremberg Trials. It was written by Abby Mann and directed by Stanley Kramer. Spencer Tracy portrays Chief Judge Dan Haywood. Also featured are Burt Lancaster as Dr. Ernst Janning, Richard Widmark playing prosecuting attorney Col. Tad Lawson, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, Werner Klemperer and William Shatner. Werner Klemperer went on to play Stalag Commander Colonel Klink in the television show "Hogan's Heroes". Maximilian Schell took home the Academy Award for Best Actor. Spencer Tracy was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination went to Montgomery Clift and a Best Actress in a Supporting Role nomination went to Judy Garland. Before his "Star Trek" fame William Shatner played Capt. Harrison Byers in the film.

Many of the notable actors who appear in the film did so for a fraction of their usual salaries because they believed in the project.

Some popular TV shows premiering in 1961 were "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "Hazel", "Dr. Kildare", "Ben Casey" and "ABC's Wide World of Sports".

Answer: Michelangelo

"The Agony and the Ecstasy" is Irving Stone's biographical novel of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Stone lived in Italy for years working in marble quarries and apprenticed himself to a marble sculptor as preparation for writing the book. A primary source for the novel were Michelangelo's letters. Stone translated all 495 letters.

The Italian government honored Irving Stone with several honorary awards for his efforts in depicting Italian history. The novel was adapted to film in "The Agony and the Ecstasy" in 1965 starring Charlton Heston. "Lust for Life" is also written by Stone and depicts the life of Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent Van Gogh was played by Kirk Douglas in the film adaptation of the book.

Other notable books published in 1961 include "Mila 18" by Leon Uris, "The Carpetbaggers" written by Harold Robbins and Steinbeck's "The Winter of Our Discontent".

Answer: Big Bad John

"Big Bad John" was recorded by Jimmy Dean and composed by Dean and Roy Acuff. It was released in September, 1961, and by the beginning of November it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100. "Big Bad John" won Dean the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. "Big Bad John" was also the title of a 1990 television movie starring Dean. Jimmy Dean went on to work as an actor and appeared as Willard Whyte in the Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever".

He is best known today as the founder of the Jimmy Dean Food Company. "Goodbye, Liza Jane" was sung by W.P. Detherow. "One Way Out" is a blues song first recorded in 1961 by Sonny Boy Williamson II. "Johnny Remember Me" is British producer Joe Meek's first number one production.

The song was a 1961 UK hit for John Leyton and The Outlaws.

Other number one hits in 1961 were Del Shannon's "Runaway", "Travelin' Man" by Ricky Nelson, "Hit the Road, Jack" by Ray Charles and "Blue Moon" by the Marcels. A then-unknown group called the Beatles made their first appearance at Liverpool's Cavern Club in 1961.

Answer: Blue Hawaii

"Blue Hawaii" was Elvis' eighth film and his second 1961 release. It began production in March and hit theaters in November after a premier at a Honolulu theater. It costars Joan Blackman as his love interest Maile Duval and Angela Lansbury as his mother. Juliet Prowse was originally cast as Maile Duval but was replaced by Blackman before production began.

In the film Chad's parents manage the fictional Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company but Elvis prefers to work at a travel agency. The movie soundtrack became one of Elvis Presley's biggest selling albums, including such songs as "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Rock-a-Hula Baby".

In June of the same year "Wild in the Country" was released. "Follow That Dream" and "Girls, Girls, Girls" premiered the following year. "Girl Happy" was released in 1965. "The Guns of Navarone", "The Hustler", "The Parent Trap" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" were other top movies in 1961.

Answer: Alan Shepard, Jr.

The Russians actually won the space race when Yuri Gagarin was launched into space on April 12th, 1961. On May 5th Alan Shepard, Jr. made his 15-minute space flight. Virgil Grissom did his sub-orbital flight in July. John Glenn was the first astronaut to orbit the Earth and Neil was the first man to step on the surface of the moon. Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. started his military career on the destroyer USS Cogswell after graduation from Annapolis.

He was in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

He received his wings in 1947 and eventually achieved the rank of Rear Admiral. He commanded the Apollo 14 mission and was the fifth person to walk on the moon. He was descended from Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. Shepard passed away on July 21, 1998. If he bought a jar of Tang to take into space in 1961 he would have paid fifty-one cents. For those who were earthbound and mailed a letter the stamp cost four cents.

Answer: Roger Maris

Because the season had been expanded to 162 games Commissioner Ford Frick insisted that an asterisk be placed next to Roger Maris' name after he beat Babe Ruth's home run record. Willie Mays hit four home runs in one game in 1961 for the San Francisco Giants. Clemente and Cash went head-to-head during the 1961 season for batting average honors. Pittsburgh's Clemente hit .351 and Cash attained a .361 batting average playing for Detroit.

In 1961 major-league baseball expanded for the first time in over 50 years when the American League grew to ten teams.

In Indy news A. J. Foyt won his first Indy 500 just three years after making his first appearance at the event. Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to their third straight NBA championship and took home the MVP award.

Answer: Tab

Nestlé introduced Coffee-Mate in 1961. It was the first powdered non-dairy creamer. The round ball in the IBM Selectronic typewriter gradually made the old typewriters a thing of the past after 1961. Sprite was introduced by Coca-Cola in 1961. It was produced to challenge the popularity of 7-Up.

The diet soft drink Tab was introduced by Coca-Cola's Fanta division in 1963. Tab became the second highest selling diet cola behind Diet-Rite Cola. If you were concerned about your weight you could read "Calories Don't Count" introduced in 1961 by Dr.

Herman Taller. If you wanted a snack with your soda you could get a Bird's Eye frozen dinner for forty-nine cents or four Pillsbury cake mixes for a dollar. Bread was twenty-five cents a loaf.