Easy American League Retired Numbers Trivia Quiz | Sports

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which Cleveland Indian strikeout king and Hall of Fame great was the first to have his jersey retired by the team?

Answer: Bob Feller

The others played their careers in the National League. Feller, nicknamed "Rapid Robert", played his entire 18 seasons with the Indians. In 1946, this number 19 set a season record for striking out 348 batters in modern day baseball. He had a career record of 266-162.

Other Indians that were graced by having their numbers retired were Earl Averill and his number 3, Lou Boudreau's number 5, Larry Doby's 14, the number 18 of Mel Harder, and the 21 of pitcher Bob Lemon.

2. The New York Yankees are littered with retired numbers from some of their greats. Strangely enough, two catchers in the names of Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey wore the same number, and it was retired in both their names in 1972. Which number was this?

Answer: 8

Dickey controlled the Yankee battery from 1928-1946, then Berra from 1946-1965. Both greats were later inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame. Other Yankee retired numbers include the number 5 of Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford's 16, Lou Gehrig's number 4, Ron Guidry's 49, and Elston Howard's 32, amongst many others.

3. In a ceremony on May 29, 1984, the Boston Red Sox retired the team's first two numbers in franchise history. One was the number 4 of shortstop Joe Cronin, and the other was the number 9 that belonged to which other Hall of Fame great?

Answer: Ted Williams

The others were all former Pittsburgh Pirates and never played in the American League. Williams was a career Bostonian. Ted batted for two Triple Crowns and won two AL MVPs. He in the top-five for the MVP nine times during his 19 seasons. Some of his seasons were shortened or missed due to war also.

His 521 home runs along with his career average of .344, put him in the hall in 1966.

4. The Detroit Tigers have retired some jerseys that belonged to great players. Outfielder Al Kaline was the franchise's first to have his number retired. Which number was it?

Answer: 6

Kaline was another one of those loyal players, and played his entire 22 seasons wearing the number 6 of the Tigers. Al won 10 Gold Gloves, led the AL in batting only once, and came very close to batting for the Triple Crown in 1955. He was a 1980 Hall of Fame inductee.

Other retired Tiger numbers include the number 2 of Charlie Gehringer, the number 5 of slugger Hank Greenberg, Willie Horton's 23, and the 16 of pitcher Hal Newhouser.

5. Baltimore's Jim Palmer was the team's first pitcher and Cy Young winner to have his jersey retired. Which number was it?

Answer: 22

Palmer was a career Oriole from 1965-1984. His first Cy Young award in 1973 prevented the great Nolan Ryan from winning it. Jim won two more in 1975 and 1976. He was a 1990 Hall of Fame inductee. Frank Robinson was the first Oriole to have his number 20 retired. He was followed by Brooks Robinson, manager Earl Weaver, Palmer, Eddie Murray, and Cal Ripken Jr.

6. Which Texas Ranger manager had his number 26 retired in 2005?

Answer: Johnny Oates

The others never managed a team. Oates helmed the Rangers for seven seasons from 1995-2001. He took them to three division championships. Johnny had a Ranger record of 506-476. Nolan Ryan also had his number 34 retired for Texas in 1996.

7. Which Minnesota Twin slugger was the first to have his number retired for the team?

Answer: Harmon Killebrew

The others never donned a Twins uniform. Harmon was originally a Washington Senator, and made the move with the team in 1961. He wore the number 3 with his only MVP coming in 1969. With his 573 career home runs, amazingly, he never hit 50 in a season. Killebrew's number 3 was retired in 1975, more than 10 years earlier than the next Twin, Rod Carew. Tony Oliva's number 6 followed Carew's 29, then Kent Hrbek's 14, and Kirby Puckett's number 34.

8. The Angels' first retired number came in the number 26 of owner Gene Autry in 1982. The Angels also had a shortstop who wore the number 11 that was retired, and he later became a manager. Who was this?

Answer: Jim Fregosi

The others were all teammates of Fregosi, but all in the National League, and never played in the American League. 11 of Jim's 18 seasons were with the Angels before retiring after 20 games in the 1978 season. He retired with the Pirates to take the Angels' helm in the same season.

He managed the Angels for four seasons before also managing the White Sox, Phillies, and Blue Jays. Other retired Angel numbers include the 29 of Rod Carew, Nolan Ryan's 30, and the number 50 of Angels coach Jim Reese.

9. Reggie Jackson is one of a few that had his number retired with the Oakland Athletics. What number did "Mr. October" wear with Oakland?

Answer: 9

Jackson joined the Athletics in Kansas City in 1967, then moved with the team to Oakland in 1968. His nickname of "Mr. October" was earned due to his postseason home run prowess. Reggie was the 1973 AL MVP, and won it over Jim Palmer and Amos Otis. Jackson also wore the number 44 with the Yankees (of which they've retired in his name) and the Angels.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993, all by himself.

10. This number 5 was the first Kansas City Royal number to be retired. It belonged to a player that won three batting titles, and hit over .300 an amazing 11 times in his career. Who is this career Royal Hall of Famer?

Answer: George Brett

Brett was a career Royal from 1973-1993. He was truly a fixture at third base, helping Kansas City to two World Series appearances, and finally the crown against the Cardinals in 1985. George was a 1999 hall inductee. He is also remembered for his rant during the famous "pine tar incident" at home plate.

Source: Author Nightmare

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American League Retired Numbers Quiz

All multiple choice to see if you can identify some of these greats. I hope that you have fun with it. :-)

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