Here and There - Multi-Sport Athletes Quiz

Answer: St Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons

Brian Jordan was a star athlete in high school before going to the University of Richmond. In 1988 he was selected by the St Louis Cardinals in the first round of the MLB draft. The following year, he was taken by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, although the Bills subsequently released him during their training camp.

While playing in the Cardinals' minor league system, Jordan was picked up by the Atlanta Falcons, for whom he played two seasons as a defensive back. In June 1992, he signed a new contract with the Cardinals, giving him a major signing-on bonus, in return for which he committed to playing baseball exclusively, ending his NFL career. Jordan remained with the Cardinals for six years, before going on to play for three other MLB teams, playing in the 1999 World Series for the Atlanta Braves.

Answer: Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Blue Jays

Mark Hendrickson excelled at baseball, basketball and tennis while in high school, and was selected in both team sports during his time at the University of Washington. Such was his potential in baseball that he was selected in every single MLB draft from 1992, when he graduated from high school, to 1997, after he had graduated from college.

In the 1997 MLB draft he was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays, while in 1996 he was a second round pick in the NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He eventually played for four teams in the NBA between 1996 and 2000, while playing minor league baseball for the Blue Jays.

In 2000, frustrated at the stop-start nature of his time in basketball, he elected to give the game up and concentrate on baseball, making his major league debut for the Blue Jays in 2002.

Hendrickson subsequently represented another four teams in MLB before retiring in 2015.

Answer: Canterbury Bulldogs and New South Wales

Graeme Hughes made his rugby league debut in 1974 for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at the age of 19 as a second-row forward. In addition to finishing as a runner-up in the New South Wales RFL premiership competition, in 1975 Hughes was selected for the New South Wales team to play against Queensland in the annual Interstate Series. Hughes eventually played 116 games for the Bulldogs until retiring from the game in 1982.

In 1975 Hughes made his first-class debut in the Sheffield Shield for the New South Wales cricket team, going on to play 20 games at first-class level, with his highest score being 65 in the 1st innings of a game against Victoria at the MCG in Melbourne in his final season in 1979.

Answer: Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Maple Leafs

Gerry James was just 17 years old when, in 1952, he signed a contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, making him one of the youngest players ever to appear in the CFL. During eleven years in Winnipeg, he helped the team to four victories in the Grey Cup, as well as setting a CFL record for rushing touchdowns in a single season, when he scored 18 in 1957.

After leaving the Blue Bombers in 1963, he played a final season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before retiring from football. As well as football, James was also a talented hockey player as a junior who signed a professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL in 1955, with whom he appeared for five years.

In 1959, immediately after winning the Grey Cup with the Blue Bombers, James returned to the Maple Leafs for the remainder of the 1959-60 NHL season, which included playing in the 1960 Stanley Cup finals, making him the first player to appear in the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup in the same season.

Answer: Boston Celtics and Toronto Blue Jays

Danny Ainge was a talented multi-sport athlete in high school, becoming the first person to earn All-American honours in baseball, basketball and football. At Brigham Young University, he concentrated on basketball, again being named as an All-American.

In 1977, he was selected in the 15th round of the MLB draft as an amateur while still in college by the Toronto Blue Jays. Ainge made his major league debut in May 1979 and remained with the Blue Jays for three years until deciding to concentrate on basketball.

In the 1981 NBA draft he was selected by the Boston Celtics, who had to buy out his contract with the Blue Jays to make him eligible to play. Ainge stayed with the Celtics until 1989, winning two NBA titles and reaching the finals on two other occasions, before going on to play for the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns, eventually retiring in 1995.

Answer: Boston Red Sox and New York Knicks

At high school in Oklahoma, Gene Conley was selected for All-State teams in both baseball and basketball, as well as being state champion in the high jump. At Washington State University he played in the College World Series and was an honourable mention for the All-American basketball team. During summers he played semi-professional baseball in Walla Walla, at which major league scouts were eager to sign him, while teams in the NBA were also making him offers.

Although he had stated that he wished to finish college before signing any professional contract, in August 1950 he signed for the Boston Braves to play baseball, eventually making his major league debut against the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 1952. Nine days after making his debut for the Braves, Conley was selected by the Boston Celtics in the NBA draft.

He played a single season in the NBA before electing to concentrate on baseball for five years, during which he played in the 1957 World Series for the Braves (by now in Milwaukee).

In 1958 he returned to the Celtics, which led to the Braves trading him to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1959. The following year, he returned to baseball in Boston with the Red Sox, while leaving the Celtics in 1961, eventually ending his NBA career at the New York Knicks in 1964. Gene Conley was the last living player to have played baseball for both the Boston Braves and the Boston Red Sox on his death in 2017.

Answer: St Kilda and Victoria

Keith Miller attended Melbourne High School where, although he was a mediocre student, he showed a talent for sports and was selected for his school cricket team, despite his short stature. With cricket played in the summer, during the winter he, along with his brothers, played Australian Rules Football.

In 1936, Miller experienced a significant growth spurt, adding 11 inches to his height; this allowed him to add power to the techniques he had learned in both games. Upon leaving school, he went to work as a clerk while at the same time joining the VCA Colts cricket team, for whom he made his debut in 1937; the same season he made his first-class debut for Victoria. Also in 1937, he joined Brighton Football Club in the Victoria Football Association. By 1939, he had played for Victoria in Australia's premier domestic cricket competition, the Sheffield Shield, his first match being against South Australia, where he ran out the great Don Bradman, while in 1940 he had moved to St Kilda Football Club in the top-level Victorian Football League. Miller played for St Kilda until 1942, while he eventually left Victoria to play cricket for New South Wales in 1947, the year after he had made his international debut for Australia.

Answer: Hampshire and Newcastle Falcons

The son of former England cricketer Ian Botham, Liam Botham initially joined Hampshire County Cricket Club in 1996; on his First Class debut against Middlesex he took a five wicket haul including that of former England captain Mike Gatting. However, by the end of that season Botham elected not to continue with cricket, instead joining West Hartlepool RFC to play rugby union.

He remained at the club for a season before joining Cardiff RFC in 1997, where he remained for three years, followed by three years at Newcastle Falcons.

Then, in 2003, he moved to Leeds, where he signed a joint contract to play rugby union for Leeds Tykes and rugby league for their sister club Leeds Rhinos. Botham was eventually forced to retire in 2005 due to injury.

Answer: Highlanders and Otago

A talented rugby player at school, Jeff Wilson played for the New Zealand national secondary schools team against Australia in 1992, before he joined the Otago provincial side the following year; he was also included in the All Blacks' touring side to the UK, making his international debut against Scotland.

In 1996, with the foundation of the Super 12 competition for provincial sides from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, he signed a professional contract with the new Otago Highlanders team, playing for them for six years until 2002.

In 1992, he was also signed by Otago's provincial cricket team, who he played for over the course of 15 years until 2005. In 1993, he was selected by the New Zealand cricket team to play in a One-Day International series against Australia. Twelve years later, after his retirement from rugby union, he was again selected for a One-Day International series, again against Australia, the twelve years since his previous appearance being a world record.

Answer: Arsenal and Middlesex

Denis Compton joined Middlesex County Cricket Club in 1936 at the age of 18. The same year, he transferred from the non-league Nunhead FC to join Arsenal. By the end of the 1930s, Compton was regarded as one of England's finest batsmen, earning his first England cap in 1937, and eventually playing 78 times for the national team, while turning out for Middlesex more than 500 times, scoring almost 39,000 runs, over the course of his twenty-two years with the club, winning the County Championship in 1947.

The year after this triumph, Compton was part of the Arsenal side that won the 1947-48 Football League Championship. Over the course of his fourteen years with Arsenal (interspersed by the years of the Second World War), he played a total of 60 games for the club; by contrast, Compton's brother Leslie, who also played for both Arsenal and Middlesex, played more than 250 games for each club.