A Mix of USA Sports and Legends Quiz

Answer: Major League Soccer

The Major League Soccer league was founded in 1993 by the United States Soccer Federation, as part of the United States' desire to host the FIFA World Cup. The league began with ten teams in 1996 -- the first MLS game was played on April 6, 1996, between the San Jose Clash and D.C. United at Spartan Stadium. Clash defeated United before 31,000 fans.

The MLS is the fourth largest sports league in the USA. The main season starts in February and lasts till October. It ends with the championship, the MLS Cup. Toronto FC were admitted to MLS in 2007 (the first Canadian team). MLS expanded from 27 to 28 teams for the 2022 season: 25 in the USA and 3 in Canada.

[information from "Sports Illustrated", "Birth of a League" by Grant Wahl and Brian Straus ]

Answer: first baseman

After playing on the 1984 United States Olympic Baseball Team, Mark McGwire was drafted to the Oakland Athletics MLB baseball team. He played for Oakland Athletics until 1997, when he switched to the St. Louis Cardinals. He retired in 2001.

For most of his career, McGwire was a first baseman. He won the Golden Glove Award in 1990 for his superior field performance. As a rookie he broke several records, hitting over 30 home runs each of his first four seasons. His hitting skills helped the Oakland Athletics win the World Series in 1988.

After his playing career was over, McGwire accepted a hitting coach position for the Cardinals. He coached the Cardinals from 2010 to 2012. He left the Cardinals to be closer to his family and took the same position with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013.

[ information from mlb.com, www.baseball-reference.com, baseballhall.org ]

Answer: New York Rangers

Mark Messier was a hockey player who played 25 years with the NHL under the teams the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks (1979-2004).

Messier joined the Edmonton Oilers after playing professionally with the World Hockey Association and won a Stanley Cup with the Oilers in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990. He was traded to the New York Rangers in 1991 and led them to victory in 1994, which was their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. He became the first captain in NHL history to lead two NHL teams to a Stanley Cup. His teammates nicknamed him "the Messiah" for his accomplishment, a play on his name. Governor Rudi Giuliani nicknamed Messier, "Mr. June", for his victory.

[ source: nhl.com, thehockeywriters.com, www.hockey-reference.com ]

Answer: Navajo

In 1996, KTNN, a Navajo broadcasting station based out of Window Rock, Arizona, became the first broadcaster to air the Super Bowl championship in a Native American language. Tazbah McCullah, KTNN's general manager explained to local newspapers that 30 percent of the population in the station's broadcasting area, only spoke Navajo. As a courtesy to include all the sports fans, the station broadcasted the game in Navajo to more than 250,000 people.

[ information gathered from "Indian Country Today" newspaper and "San Francisco Business Times" weekly ]

Answer: Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi was the head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers from 1958 to 1968. Under his leadership the Packers won six divisional and five NFL championships, achieving victories in Super Bowls I and II.

Lombardi retired as head coach in 1968 but retained his duties as manager. In 1969 he found the position less challenging and moved on to the Washington Redskins, who he thought were in greater need. He wanted to create a "second miracle", similar to how he brought the Green Bay Packers up from a losing team, to recognized champions. However, he died of cancer before he could see his second mission fulfilled. A year after he died of cancer, he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1971.

[source: National Football League Hall of Fame ]

Answer: wheelchair race

The Boston Marathon has hosted athletes from all fifty U.S. states and over 100 different countries. It is also open to athletes that have disabilities.

The Wheelchair Division hosts the wheelchair race 15 minutes before the opening of the Boston Marathon. It requires that all para-athletes pre-register their wheelchairs and meet a set of physical qualifications before entering. Para athletes cannot have any muscular ability below the waist and must enter a qualifying time before they are eligible to race.

[ information from Boston Athletic Association ]

Answer: The Magnificent Seven

"The Magnificent Seven" included Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Amy Chow, Amanda Borden, and Jaycie Phelps. The team was most well known for Kerri Strug's performance. Strug won the gold medal by making a second attempt at a pole vault, landing perfectly on a previous injury. She was carried to the gold by her coach.

Amy Chow won the team's first medal and became the first Asian American to win a women's gymnastic medal for her routine on the uneven bars. Shannon Miller became the first American woman to win gold on the balance beam. Dominique Dawes won bronze for her routine on-the-floor exercise.

[ information from History.com, olympics.com, people.com ]

Answer: Tiger Woods

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods became a professional golfer at the age of 20. His father encouraged him from infancy and began training him from his toddler years to have a career in golf. Eldrick's father served in the Vietnam War and had a best friend, a South Vietnamese soldier named Col. Vuong Dang Phong. Colonel Phong's nickname was "Tiger". As Eldrick grew up, his father called him "Tiger" to honor his friend.

The 1997 Masters in Augusta, Georgia, was Tiger Woods' first win in one of golf's four major championships. It also made him one of the youngest professional golfers in history to win a championship at age 21. By June 1997, Woods became the number one professional golfer in the world. At age 24, he had won all four major golf titles. In 2005, he became the first person to win four Masters before age 30.

[ information from history.com, thegolfnews.net, sportscasting.com ]

Answer: Sugar Ray Leonard

Charles Ray Leonard was named after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles. He competed in the U.S. Olympics in boxing in Montreal 1976. After he won a gold medal, he announced his retirement from the sport and expected to go to college. However, his plans were changed when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant. The birth of his son caused him to drop his education and reenter the ring as a professional boxer in February 1977.

Leonard won world titles as a welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight. In 1997 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. When he retired from boxing he became a commentator and television host. He wrote books about his early life struggles, including being abused during his time as an Olympian.

[ information from olympics.com, teamusa.org, sugarrayleonard.com ]

Answer: Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson was considered the Jackie Robinson of African American women's sports. She played at a time when women and African Americans were not "widely accepted in athletics". Gibson has been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame for her role in tennis and golf.

She was denied many opportunities because many African Americans were not accepted into sports during the 1940s and 1950s. When Gibson became the first African American female to win a Grand Slam title (1956 French Championship), she captured the world stage. She then won the Wimbledon and U.S National titles in 1957, and again in 1958. After her Wimbledon win in 1957, New York welcomed her home with a ticker-tape parade; the second African American to be so honoured (the first was Jesse Owens in 1936).

Gibson was the first African American female athlete to appear on the covers of "Sports Illustrated" and "Time". Nonetheless, she was not accepted by tennis celebrities or professional athletic clubs. In 1964, she became the first African American female to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour. Many country clubs refused to let her compete, and others let her compete but refused to let her use the clubhouse (she changed and got dressed in her car). She played until the end of the 1978 season.

[ information from biography.com, history.com, New York Times ]