Iconic Sports Pictures Trivia Quiz

Answer: Willie Mays

Mays, the center fielder for the New York Giants, ran back a long distance to get near the ball. The ball went directly over his head and was slightly to his other side. He twisted his body around and caught the ball with his back to home plate and quickly turned around to make a strong throw back to the infield.. As a side note, Mays popularized the "basket catch" where the ball was caught at waist high level at a time players were taught to catch the ball at eye level.
Mantle and DiMaggio were also excellent center fielders, but played in the same baseball division as Vic Wertz's team, the Cleveland Indians, and wouldn't have been been in the World Series against the Indians.
Clemente played right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Answer: Brandi Chastain

All four ladies were part of the powerhouse U.S. program and each of them made a successful penalty kick in the shootout. Chastain's kick was the final kick that clinched a 5-3 shootout win. Ironically she had missed a previous high pressure penalty kick in a previous major competition (Algarave Cup) and conquering demons from that made an even better story.

In 2016 Ms Chastain agreed to donate her brain for medical study of the possible damage to the brain from soccer.

Answer: Brooklyn Dodgers

The Brooklyn Dodgers were the third wheel in the New York baseball world, with a fan base of the poorer ethnic regions, goofy players, and limited finances (unlike their successors in Los Angeles). The Dodgers were in many years a "sad sack" franchise and even in the better years lost to their home town rivals the Yankees in the World Series.
In their 6th or 7th World Series appearance in 1955 the Dodgers had a 2-0 lead when the Yankees had two men on base. Berra hit a long line drive to left field that the left-handed Amoros chased down after a long run that ended in a double play to end the last Yankee threat in the seventh game of the series.
The Boston Braves were also very unsuccessful but had won the series in 1914 and again in 1957 after moving to Milwaukee. The Phillies never won the series until 1980. The Cubs won in 1907 and 1908 but had not won again as of 2015.

Answer: Sonny Liston

Ali is certainly one of the greatest boxers in history, but his win over Liston is tainted by rumors of a fix. Although Ali claims he threw a lightning fast punch to knock Liston out, other observers believe Liston was never hit. (Note Ali has never been accused of any involvement, if there was a fix). Ali defeated the other three boxers later in his career.

Answer: Dwight Clark

Clark was a tall receiver playing tight end. The Dallas defense forced Montana to run towards the sideline to avoid being tackled. Just before being tackled he threw a pass that seems to be over the end zone for an incomplete pass, but Clark raced in the picture and jumped high to snare the ball.

Rice was the best receiver for the 49ers and set many league records. Taylor, another standout for the 49ers, is best remembered for his game winning Super Bowl catch against Cincinnati. Owens also starred for the 49ers, but at a later date.

Answer: Mike Eruzione

As many people remember the Soviet Union did not allow its hockey players to play in professional leagues and its national team contained some of the best players in the world. They played a series of closely contested games against an NHL all star team. The Soviet team had breezed through earlier qualification games, and had beaten the US team earlier by a score of 10-3.
Jim Craig was the standout American goalie that game and another iconic picture shows Craig after the game wearing an American flag draped around him pleading "where is my father" (he had feared a heart attack had occurred). Eruzione had scored a late goal to put the US team ahead. Mark Johnson was the unsung hero of the game. He had scored a tying goal with one second left in the second period and the tying goal in the final period.
Jack McCartan was the goalie of the 1960 US hockey gold medalists (almost forgotten in the miracle on ice euphoria) who stopped over 40 shots against an earlier Soviet team in just as startling an upset.

Answer: Kerri Strug

Mary Lou Retton was the most decorated US gymnast at her team and was later featured as the first female athlete on the Wheaties "Breakfast of Champions" cereal boxes. McKayla Moroney was arguably the best gymnast in the vault competition of the 2012 Olympics, but an unfortunate landing on her second attempt caused her to fall to a silver medal position. A widely-circulated picture show her "oh, I'm so unimpressed" facial expression as the gold medalist was introduced in the medal ceremony. Alicia Sacramone was a member of a later US gymnastics team.

Many have forgotten an even more courageous performance by Japanese gymnast Shun Fujimoto who dismounted from the rings with a broken knee to support his teammates and caused further serious damage to his knee.

Answer: Crashing through the mountains after an errant ski jump

The classic opening of Wide World of Sports was "spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat". It then showed the wild landing of the Yugoslav ski jumper as he careened out of control. Later other scenes were added to the opening, but Vinko's moment of fame was always there.
Bogataj didn't realize that his jump was world famous until he was invited to a 20th anniversary of the show.

Answer: Bobby Orr

This Stanley Cup series hadn't been memorable up to this point. The Boston Bruins had won the first three games and only needed to win this game to complete a sweep. The picture of Orr flying through the air parallel to the ice provided a dramatic ending the the series. Orr revolutionized the play of defensemen in hockey by his smooth skating, elusiveness, and offensive skill. A series of knee injuries ended his career much too early.
Howe and Gretzky were two of the very best offense men. Robinson was a defensive stalwart for the great Montreal teams of the 70s and 90s.

Answer: John Carlos

Tommie Smith and John Carlos (both African Americans) finished first and third in the 200 meter final and raised their hands in what they later called a human rights gesture. Peter Norman from Australia, who finished second, wore a human rights badge on the podium to express solidarity for the Americans. Both Smith and Carlos were sent home for their political expression, but later had successful careers in education after their athletic days. Both served as pallbearers for Peter Norman's funeral, who had been excluded from future Australian Olympic teams in part for his political activities.