End of the Era Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joe DiMaggio

In 13 years as the New York Yankees center fielder Giuseppe Paolo "Joe" DiMaggio batted .325, hit over 360 home runs and was named to the all-star game 13 times. DiMaggio played on nine World Series winners and was the American League MVP three times. However, DiMaggio is my pick for the greatest baseball player of his and any era because of the nearly inconceivable streak of hitting in 56 straight games. From May 15 until July 17, 1941 DiMaggio got at least one hit in every game shattering the previous record of 44 straight games with a hit; set in 1896-97 by Willie Keeler (Baltimore Orioles). DiMaggio's consecutive game hitting streak is frequently cited as an "unbeatable record" and one of the most amazing accomplishments in baseball history.

DiMaggio, like other sports stars of the early 1940s, lost several years of his prime to military service in World War II. DiMaggio is also remembered for his intense if short marriage to Marilyn Monroe in 1954. The picture of a clipper ship in sail is a tribute to DiMaggio's nickname "The Yankee Clipper".

Answer: Pele

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele") is the most recognizable name in a game played on every continent. Because he drove the Brazilian national team to World Cup wins in 1958, 1962 and 1970, scoring a total of 12 goals and ten assists in World Cup matches. In addition to his success on the world stage, Pele performed like a champion over his 22 years of Brazillian club soccer scoring 643 goals in 656 games. After leaving Brazil, Pele played three years of soccer in the USA inspiring a generation of American soccer fans. At the end of the 20th Century, FIFA named Pele the Player of the Century, and "Time" Magazine included Pele as one its 100 most influential people of the century.

Despite becoming an international symbol for football excellence, at heart Pele was a child of the poverty stricken streets of a small town near Sao Paulo Brazil. What better way to symbolize the man as an athlete than with a Brazilian flag. Since retirement Pele has continued to be a spokesperson for Brazilian football and an advocate for the Brazilian poor.

Answer: Jesse Owens

On May 25, 1935 in the span of 45 minutes during a track meet as a student at Ohio State University Owens set three world records and tied a fourth. A year later at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin Germany Owens won four gold medals in front of Adolph Hitler and the ruling Nazi party. His feat destroyed the Nazi myth that the USA were sending "inferior humans" to compete against the "master" German race. When Owens returned home, he found it impossible to earn a living as a track athlete and the 1936 Olympics were his last athletic competitions. Eventually, the magnitude of his accomplishments and the dignity of the man opened doors as a public speaker and international icon.

James Cleveland Owens will always be remembered by the gold medals he won in 1936 and the very public blow to the aura of Nazi superiority that his quadruple set of medals provided.

Answer: Abebe Bikila

If winning the Olympic Marathon back to back is not enough to earn the moniker of greatest distance runner, consider that in the 1960 Rome marathon, Bikila ran as he had trained, without shoes of any kind. He was an unknown last minute substitute for the Ethiopian team and was not expected to figure in the medals. Bikila won and in the process shattered the old marathon record. His victory heralded the start of the era of dominance for African middle and long distance runners. In 1964, Bikila suffered an attack of acute appendicitis requiring surgery just weeks before the Tokyo Games. Nevertheless, Bikila, now using running shoes, easily retained his title. Tragically while training for the 1968 games in Mexico City, Bikila was struck by a car and paralyzed; dying of post-accident complications only two years later.

Running in bare feet over any distance is perhaps not the best idea. It is painful to even contemplate running the world's fastest race for 26.2 miles over cobblestones and asphalt.

Answer: Jonah Lomu

Jonah Lomu combined the ferocious power and blazing speed of a top rugby striker with a rock star attitude. Lomu came to international attention in 1994 as a member of the winning New Zealand "All Blacks" in the Hong King Seven Nations Cup. However, it was in the 1995 Rugby World Cup that Lomu became a sensation. Despite the fact that New Zealand lost to host South Africa in the final, Lomu dominated the tournament scoring seven tries in five games. Lomu went on to play in 63 matches for the All Blacks and scored an amazing 185 points. Perhaps the most impressive part of Lomu's remarkable career is that he performed at such a high level despite suffering from nephritic syndrome, a serious kidney disease, which eventually required a kidney transplant.

The interesting picture in the clue is meant to symbolize the biblical hero Jonah trapped inside the whale as a punishment for not heading the will of the creator to preach repentance to the citizens of Nineveh.

Answer: Jim Brown

No one embodies the phrase "leave them wanting more" better than James Nathaniel Brown. Brown was a dominating athlete at Syracuse University in the late 1950s. He was an all-American running back and lacrosse player. In addition to being a member of both the college and NFL Hall of Fame, Brown was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. As a pro football player Brown played nine seasons being named to the Pro Bowl each year. Eight of the nine seasons Brown won the rushing title and he won the league's MVP title four times. Brown led the Cleveland Browns to the 1964 NFL championship and led the league in rushing again in 1965. However despite no visible slowdown in his dominance, Brown retired at the end of the 1965 season at the age of 29. Since his retirement Brown's rushing records have been surpassed by other players, but his legacy has not been diminished.

The athletic careers of Peanuts character Charlie Brown featured in the picture clue and Jim Brown are about as opposite as you can get. Both however have had successful careers in movies and television. After retiring from football, Jim Brown turned to acting where he has appeared in such diverse movies as 1967's "The Dirty Dozen" to 1996's campy "Mars Attacks!".

Answer: Rod Laver

In 1969, Laver completed his second Grand Slam by winning the four major championships (Wimbledon, Australia, U.S. and French Opens) during the same calendar year. Laver had won all four majors as an amateur player in 1962 and repeated the feat as a professional seven years later. While others have eclipsed his overall number of 11 major singles wins, Laver did not play in the 16 major championships held from 1963 to 1967 (when he was in his prime of 25-29 years old). Laver, along with friends and closest rivals Neale Fraser, Roy Emerson, and Ken Rosewall formed an almost unbeatable wall of Australian men's tennis players that dominated international amateur and professional tennis for nearly two decades.

The Brazen or Bronze Laver depicted here is an Old Testament reference from the Book of Exodus recalling a vessel for the washing of the hands and feet of priests before entering the Jewish Tabernacle. The Laver was made from bronze mirrors donated to the priesthood by the women of the Jewish community.

Answer: Oscar Robertson

No one else has duplicated the feat of averaging double figures in assists, points and rebounds for a season. In 1961, Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists. For his career that spanned 14 seasons, Robertson averaged 25.7 points, 9.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds. In 1964, Robertson narrowly missed repeating the triple double feat (he needed seven more rebounds over the course of his 79 games played) and was named NBA MVP. Robertson was a twelve time all-star, was named to the all-NBA first team eleven times and was a key part of the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks NBA Championship team.

The annual Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences award for "best of" in film making is called an "Oscar". The award is not named for Oscar Robertson though there is no consensus as to how the name was coined. In 1974, the year Robertson retired the Oscar for Best Picture went to "The Sting".

Answer: Mark Spitz

Mark Spitz won four medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City when he was 18 years old. By the 1972 Munich Olympics, Spitz had become the dominant force in international swimming. He entered the 100m and 200m freestyle and butterfly events and anchored the U.S. relay teams for the 4 X 100m and 200m freestyle and 4 X 100m medley relays. Spitz won a total of seven gold medals and set (or helped set) a new world record at each event. That is only half the story. The swimming events finished on September 4th. The next morning the world was shocked when Palestinian terrorists calling themselves Black September kidnapped and held the Israeli Olympic athletes and coaches hostage in the Olympic village. Spitz walked right past the rooms where the 11 athletes and coaches would be killed over the next two days unaware of the developing tragedy. As a high profile Jewish athlete Spitz was considered a target and placed under constant guard by the German government until he could be flown out of Germany. Though only 22, Spitz retired after the 1972 Olympics.

The cute dog shown in the picture is a Japanese Spitz and is a close cousin to the popular Pomeranian breed. Spitz dogs originated in antiquity and recent DNA tests establish that these dogs are genetically closest to their wolf ancestors.

Answer: Donald Bradman

I know next to nothing about cricket, but even I have heard of Sir Donald Bradman and his amazing prowess with the cricket bat. "The Don" as he was called, played for Australia in test matches from 1928 until is retirement in 1948. During that time his batting average in test matches was 99.94 runs. What that means is that for over 20 years Bradman averaged almost 100 runs every time he batted in an international cricket match. In 52 test matches Bradman scored 6996 runs and was dismissed 70 times (hence his average of 99.94). At the end of his international test career in 1948 Bradman captained an Australian team dubbed "The Invincibles" that travelled to England and won 34 straight matches, further enhancing Bradman's legacy. In 1949 Bradman was Knighted for his service to cricket and the British Empire.

When he walked out for hsi last innings in 1948, his career average was 101.39 (6996 runs 69 dismissals). He was dismissed in his last inning for zero runs. The then-record average, which was broken by Don Bradman, was 60.73 runs set by Herbet Sutcliffe (England) from 1924 to 1935. At the time of Sir Don's death in 2001, the next best average had climbed slightly to 60.97 runs, set by Graeme Pollock (South Africa) from 1963 to 1970. The majority of test cricketers retire with career averages of 20 to 40 runs.

In 1998 Bradman became the first living Australian honored with a postage stamp. The cricket oval in Bradman's home city of Bowral is fittingly named The Bradman Oval. Grandstands at the Sydney and Adelaide Ovals honor Bradman. At the Melbourne Oval the pictured statute is located at the Bradman Gate entrance to the sporting stadium.

Answer: Wayne Gretzky

The Great One, as Wayne Douglas Gretzky is known, dominated ice hockey for nearly two decades scoring goals and assists at a pace heretofore unknown in the National Hockey League. In 1981 Gretzky became the first person in NHL history to score more than 200 points in a season. Gretzky repeated the feat three more times. Gretzky was the first player to score over 1000 goals in a career and record over 2000 assists. Wayne was named the NHL's MVP (Hart Trophy) nine times in his career, was named the player with the best sportsmanship five times and played on four NHL championship teams.

Wayne Gretzky wore the 99 jersey his entire NHL career. In 1998, "The Hockey News" named Wayne the number one hockey player in NHL history. In perhaps the most poignant example of a players retirement ending an era, when Wayne Gretzky retired in 1999 the NHL determined that all teams would retire the number 99 jersey in his honor.

Answer: Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti won the 1967 Daytona 500 the "Super Bowl" of stock car racing. He won the 1969 Indianapolis 500 and then he got serious. In 1978, Andretti became only the second American to win the Formula One drivers championship. Andretti won the US open wheel racing USAC/CART championship four times. From his start in 1964 until his retirement from racing in 2000 Andretti won 10 sprint car races, 12 Formula One races, a Formula 5000 championship, 29 USAC and 19 CART races, the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring three times and finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He even won a drag race competition in 1967. In a century of great auto racers Andretti was named the "Driver of the Century" by Racer Magazine and the Associate Press.

It would be nice to say that the popular "Mario" character shown in the picture from the "Mario Kart" Nintendo video games was named in tribute to Mario Andretti, but alas he was not. "Mario Cart" is a part of the family of video games that follow the adventures of superhero plumbers Mario and Luigi. Nintendo released the first go-cart racing "Super Mario Kart" game in 1992.

Answer: Muhammad Ali

in 1964, when boxing expert Muhammad Ali (then known by his birth name of Cassius Clay) proclaimed "I am the Greatest!" who am I to argue. Ali won the 1960 light heavyweight gold medal at the Rome Olympics and then turned pro. By early 1964, Ali was 19-0 and offered a title shot for the heavyweight championship against Sonny Liston. In a massive upset Ali won and at age 22 became the world heavyweight champion. Ali defeated Liston in a rematch, former champion Floyd Patterson and eight other successful defenses of his title. Ali (Clay) converted to Islam and in 1967 refused on grounds of conscientious objection to report to the U.S. Army when drafted. Ali was convicted of draft evasion and sentenced to five years in prison. As a consequence Ali was stripped of his title.

Ali returned to boxing in 1970 (his conviction was also overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court) and regained the heavyweight championship by beating a much younger and larger George Foreman in 1974. Ali fought 13 successful defenses before losing the championship to Leon Spinks in 1977. Ali, however, regained the championship in 1978 by defeating Spinks in a rematch before losing to Larry Holmes in 1980. Ali fought once more before retiring in 1981.

Muhammad Ali's impact on boxing went far beyond his impressive record. Ali was a media master, using flamboyant and poetic language and boastful quotes. Ali was a civil and human rights leader and ambassador for equality and freedom. Ali was selected to light the Olympic torch in recognition of his enduring appeal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Answer: Arnold Palmer

At the advent of the television age no other golfer captivated an audience like Arnold Palmer. Palmer dominated the U.S. PGA tour in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Even after his rival and friend Jack Nicklaus surpassed Palmer on the course in the late 1960s, Arnold remained the most influential and popular golfer in the world. Palmer won the Masters four times, the U.S. Open in 1960, the Open in back to back years (1961-1962) and to his dismay finished second in the PGA Championship three times. When Palmer turned 50 in 1980 he took his millions of fans to the burgeoning Senior Tour where he won 10 more tournaments.

The Arnold Palmer drink shown in the picture is a mix of lemonade and iced tea that was actually popularized by the great golfer. Palmer often ordered the drink when on tour and people began asking for "that Palmer drink" until the blend (also called a half & half) became synonymous with the golfer. As a testament to Palmer's appeal and good taste the AriZona Beverage Co. sells more than 200 million dollars' worth of "Arnold Palmer" ice tea annually.

Answer: Secretariat

Why Secretariat? For that matter why a horse? The answer to both questions is the 1973 Triple Crown series of races and the Belmont Stakes in particular. The stress of the Triple Crown is immense. There are three races in a span of five weeks with the final race being at one and a half miles, the longest race most thoroughbreds will ever run. Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes setting track and race records in the process. Three weeks later Secretariat raced in the Belmont Stakes trying to become the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown. Not only did Secretariat win but he won by over 31 lengths running the distance in a world record time of 2:24 seconds. The pictures of the gigantic auburn horse thundering down the final stretch of the Belmont race track all alone is one of the most iconic images in sports history.

ESPN listed Secretariat's Belmont win as the second most amazing sport performance behind only Wilt Chamberlin's 100 point basketball performance. ESPN also named Secretariat the 35th Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century.