Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. I was widely reputed to be the fastest man who ever put on a baseball uniform. I played centerfield for the St. Louis Blues championship teams of 1928, 1930, and 1931, was a standout on the Negro National League champion Pittsburgh Crawfords of 1935-36, and won my last Negro League batting title with the Homestead Grays in 1946 at the age of 43. Who am I?
2. Most of my contemporaries believed that I was the greatest power hitter in the history of the Negro Leagues. I posted legendary home run totals and accomplished the unique feat of hitting a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. I wasn't too bad at getting the bat on the ball, either, maintaining a lifetime league batting average of .354 and batting .412 in exhibitions against Major Leaguers. I played twelve seasons for the Homestead Grays, mostly at catcher, and was one of the many stars of the legendary Pittsburgh Crawfords. Who am I?
3. One of the outstanding first basemen in Negro League History, I was a mainstay for the Homestead Grays from 1934 to 1950. I played on nine consecutive Negro National League champion ship teams between 1937 and 1945, and worked in the front office of the Rocky Mount, NC minor league team after my playing days were over. Who am I?
4. I was a star third baseman for the Hilldale Daisies from 1921 to 1932 (with the exception of 1930, when I played for the Homestead Grays) and was recruited for the elite lineup of the legendary Pittsburgh Crawfords, where I served from 1932 to 1936. I led Hilldale to three straight Eastern Colored League titles (1923-1925), was a player-manager from 1930 to 1932, and batted .309 for my career. Who am I?
5. I was a longtime ruler of a Latin American country. In 1937, I recruited several top Negro League stars (including three future Hall of Famers) to play for my personal team. During the championship series, I imprisoned my players to keep them from carousing and informed my team that if they did not win they would be summarily executed. They won. Who am I?
6. I was one of the outstanding African-American ballplayers of the pre-1920 "dead ball" era. I broke into big-time Negro League ball in 1906 with the Cuban X-Giants, and would go on to star, mainly at shortstop, with the New York Lincoln Giants and Chicago American Giants. I would later be a player-manager for the Columbus Buckeyes, New York Bacharachs, and Hilldale Daisies in the 1920s, and would be hailed by Babe Ruth as the greatest baseball player of all time. Who am I?
7. Perhaps the most consistently successful owner in the history of the Negro Leagues, I started out as an outfielder with the Homestead Grays in 1911. I took over the team's operations the following year, and my methods of running the operation (including the institution of regular salaries) became the model for many Negro League teams to follow. Though my Grays had their ups and downs, they eventually became a dynasty, winning nine consecutive Negro National League titles from 1937 to 1945. Who am I?
8. In addition to being one of the best pitchers of the early twentieth century, I was highly successful as the manager of the Chicago American Giants, who won all but one of the recorded championships in Black baseball from 1910 to 1922. In 1920, I founded the Negro National League, which would continue as one of the preeminent Negro Leagues until the integration of Major League Baseball. Who am I?
9. Thought by many to be the most versatile star in the history of baseball, I was one of the most effective pitchers and hitters in every league in which I played. I would routinely play every position in one game several times a season, and garnered a fine reputation as a defensive infielder in addition to my pitching and hitting. After retiring from active play, I served as minister of sports under Fidel Castro in my native Cuba. Who am I?
10. A star for the Kansas City Monarchs from 1936 to 1948, I compiled a lifetime won-lost record of 161-32 in league play. Though I could pour on the heat when I had to, I was better known for my breaking pitches, including a vaunted curveball. Largely due to the efforts of my good friend on the Veterans' Committee, I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. Who am I?
11. One of the first women to run a major sports team, I was business manager and effective owner of the Newark Eagles from 1935 to 1946, then assumed control of the team outright in 1946 after the death of my husband. When the Major Leagues began signing Negro League ballplayers, I fought to be compensated, eventually receiving a premium from Bill Veeck when he signed my second baseman, Larry Doby. Who am I?
12. One of the great stewards of the Negro Leagues' memory, I was a Kansas City Monarchs mainstay from 1938 to 1955, excluding my military service from 1943 to 1945. After several years as a star first baseman, I took over as manager in 1948. I left the Monarchs in 1956 to become a scout for the Chicago Cubs, for whom I would later become the first Major League African-American coach in 1962. I was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City and was a longtime member of the Baseball Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee. Who am I?
13. A fireballer for the New York Lincoln Giants and Homestead Grays, I posted a 20-7 lifetime record against Major League competition, including postseason barnstorming victories over the pennant-winning 1912 New York Giants and 1915 Philadelphia Phillies. I dueled the Giants again after they won the 1917 National League pennant and pitched a no-hitter, but lost 1-0 on an error. In 1952, twenty years after retiring from active play, I was voted the greatest Negro League pitcher of all time in a "Pittsburgh Courier" poll of African-American sportswriters. Who am I?
14. I was one of the top Negro League second basemen of the 1910s and 1920s. With a reputation for defensive play and effective baserunning, I was captain of the Chicago American Giants from 1919 to 1924, leading them to the first three Negro National League pennants (1920-22). I would later manage the Detroit Stars from 1926 to 1931. Who am I?
15. I was probably the best-known player in the history of the Negro Leagues. During my storied career as a pitcher, which began with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts in 1926, I won championships with the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Kansas City Monarchs. My dominant pitching and charismatic demeanor made me the greatest drawing card in Negro League history, and when Bill Veeck signed me to play for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 42, most dismissed it as a publicity stunt. I proved them wrong by going 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA as the Indians won the World Series and I came away with the Rookie of the Year award in 1948. Who am I?
Source: Author
stuthehistoryguy
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
gtho4 before going online.
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