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Legendary Upsets Trivia Quiz

Questions pertaining to famous upsets.

A multiple-choice quiz by bsd987. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
bsd987

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
288,967

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
4 / 10

Plays
480

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. It's fairly common knowledge that the United States upset the Soviet Union in the 1980 Men's Ice Hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics, but who did the U.S. defeat in two days later to clinch the Gold Medal? Hint

Denmark

Sweden

Finland

Norway

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Question 2 of 10

2. What aptly-named horse handed Man O'War his only lifetime loss in the 1919 Sanford Memorial Stakes?

Answer: (One word only)

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Question 3 of 10

3. One of college football's legendary upsets came in the 1984 Orange Bowl between the University of Miami and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nebraska, the top-ranked team in the country, scored with less than a minute to go to close within 31-30. Instead of playing for the tie, coach Tom Osborne chose to go for the win by going for two. Who knocked away quarterback Turner Gill's pass to win Miami its first National Championship? Hint

Rodney Bellinger

Eddie Williams

Ken Calhoun

Reggie Sutton

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Question 4 of 10

4. For some people, lightning really does strike twice. This golfer won only three times on the PGA Tour, with two of those being major championships. What man who would later become a golf commentator, won the 1978 and 1985 U.S. Open Championships? Hint

Craig Perks

Lee Janzen

Wayne Grady

Andy North

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Question 5 of 10

5. The most dominant athlete of the first decade of the 21st century was Esther Vergeer. From 2001-2007, Vergeer lost only one wheelchair singles tennis match. What Aussie defeated Vergeer in 2003 at the Sydney International? Hint

Jiske Griffioen

Korie Homan

Daniela Di Toro

Sharon Walraven

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Question 6 of 10

6. In 1987, the Minnesota Twins set a record for most regular season losses by a World Series championship team, a record that stood for 19 years until the Cardinals broke it. Which of the following is not true about the 1987 World Series between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals? Hint

The 1987 Cardinals had a worse regular season record than the 1987 Minnesota Twins

There were no one-run games

The home team won every single game

All seven games had an attendance in between 55,171 and 55,376

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Question 7 of 10

7. Valparaiso University's Bryce Drew hit a three-pointer in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the buzzer to send his school past Ole Miss, on its way to an eventual Sweet Sixteen showdown with Rhode Island. What Runnin' Rebel who would be drafted in the second round of the NBA draft missed two free throws that would have clinched the game with 4.1 seconds left? Hint

Keith Carter

Ansu Sesay

Anthony Boone

Michael White

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Question 8 of 10

8. In UEFA Euro 2004, Greece pulled off what oddsmakers pegged as a 100-1 upset in winning the tournament. However, Greece barely got out of its own group. What country that Greece tied 1-1 did it advance over because of a goals-scored tiebreaker? Hint

Spain

Russia

France

Portugal

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Question 9 of 10

9. One of the biggest upsets in boxing history occurred in 1990 when James "Buster" Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo, to become the unanimous heavyweight champion of the world. In which round did Douglas complete the knockout? Hint

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Question 10 of 10

10. Dan Gable came very close to finishing his Iowa State wrestling career undefeated, losing only his final match as a senior in the NCAA finals. What is not true about the match? Hint

It ended a 181-match winning streak dating back to high school

He lost 13-11

Larry Owings of Oregon defeated him

The weightclass was 142

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Finland

The U.S. won 4-2, clinching the Gold Medal. Since the finals was a four-team round-robin, the Soviet Union was able to still obtain the Silver Medal by defeating Sweden 9-2.

2. What aptly-named horse handed Man O'War his only lifetime loss in the 1919 Sanford Memorial Stakes?

Answer: Upset

Many people attributed this race as coining the term "to upset", as referring to beating the favorite, but recent scholarship has pinned the term as far back as 1865, 54 years before the race.

Answer: Ken Calhoun

Nebraska probably would have won the National Championship with a tie, but Osborne did not want to back into a National Championship, so he went for the win. Roverback Ken Calhoun deflected the pass and #5 Miami would go on to win the game.

Answer: Andy North

Had North won just one U.S. Open, it would be considered one of the top ten upsets in golf history, but the fact that he won two is just unfathomable. Janzen would surprisingly win two U.S. Opens in the 1990s as well as The Players Championship, despite winning only eight times on tour.

Answer: Daniela Di Toro

The other three are Dutch, just like Vergeer. Vergeer took away the #1 world ranking from Di Toro in 1999.

Answer: The 1987 Cardinals had a worse regular season record than the 1987 Minnesota Twins

This wouldn't be an upset if the Cardinals had a worse record. It was also the first World Series in which the home team won every single game. Throughout the 20th century, each league rotated having home field advantage for the World Series, and 1987 was the American League's turn to host four games. Both stadiums had almost identical seating capacities, allowing the difference between the high attendance and low attendance to be only 205.

Answer: Ansu Sesay

Sesay's two missed free throws kept 13th-seeded Valparaiso alive and it would capitalize, 70-69. In the following round, Valpo would pull another upset, albeit a much milder one, when it defeated 12th-seeded Florida State 83-77. All four players were on the Ole Miss roster during the 1997-98 season.

Answer: Spain

Spain and Greece each won one game, drew one game (against each other), and lost one game. Additionally, both countries gave up as many goals as they scored. Thus, it went to the next tie-breaker stage. Spain had scored two goals in its three games, compared to four for Greece. Therefore, Greece advanced to the quarterfinals on its way to winning UEFA Euro 2004.

Answer: 10

Despite 42-1 odds, Douglas knocked out a tired and hurt Tyson in the tenth round. He would fight once more, losing to Evander Holyfield, before retiring. He would make a comeback a few years later before retiring for good in 1999.

10. Dan Gable came very close to finishing his Iowa State wrestling career undefeated, losing only his final match as a senior in the NCAA finals. What is not true about the match?

Answer: Larry Owings of Oregon defeated him

Larry Owings went to Washington. Apparently, the memo did not reach ESPN, as in 2002 ESPN Magazine printed an article claiming Owings went to Oregon State, which is also false.

Source: Author bsd987

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
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