Sport in California Trivia Quiz

Answer: Seals Stadium

The first MLB regular season game to take place in the state of California occured on 15th April 15th 1958. The Giants defeated the Dodgers 8-0 at Seals Stadium, their temporary home field. The Giants moved into Candlestick Park two years later, whilst the Dodgers played their home games in the cavernous Coliseum before the opening of Dodger Stadium in 1962.

Answer: San Diego Sockers

The Galaxy and Chivas shared the Home Depot Center in Carson. The Earthquakes played home games at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara whilst their new stadium in San Jose was being built. There have been a number of teams called San Diego Sockers who have played indoor soccer, but none were ever members of Major League Soccer.
San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy were foundation members of MLS in 1996. Chivas USA were the 2006 expansion team.

Answer: Southern Hills

Southern Hills is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Olympic Club in San Francisco hosted its fifth US Open in 2012 when Webb Simpson was the winner. Pebble Beach, near Monterey, hosted its fifth US Open in 2010, when Graeme McDowell was the champion. Previous champions there include Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Torrey Pines, in La Jolla, hosted the US Open for the first time in 2008 when Tiger Woods prevailed.

Answer: Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks were an expansion franchise in 1993-94, and became the first California winners of the Stanley Cup in 2007, defeating the Ottawa Senators by four games to one in the finals. The Kings finally landed their first Stanley Cup in 2012, overcoming the New Jersey Devils 4-2.

The Seals were an expansion team in 1967-68, and never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of the play-offs before relocating to Cleveland in 1976.

Answer: Indian Wells

The Indian Wells Masters is one of a handful of non-Grand Slam events in which men and women take part at the same time. The men's tournament was held there for the first time in 1987, when Boris Becker was the winner. The first time the women competed there was in 1989, when Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria emerged victorious.

Answer: California & Stanford

The California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal first met on the gridiron in 1892, and have met every year in the "Big Game" since 1919, apart from a short break during World War 2. Perhaps the most famous meeting of the 20th century came in 1982, which was decided by "The Play". Stanford had taken a one point lead on a field goal with just four seconds left; on the ensuing kick-off return, Cal used five lateral passes to score the winning touchdown and earn a disputed 25-20 victory.

There was controversy over this due to the fact that members of the Stanford band had entered the field of play thinking that the game was already over!

Answer: Skateboarding

Hawk was born in Carlsbad in 1968. He won nine gold medals in the Summer X Games. In 1999, he became the first skater to land a "900", a trick involving two and a half mid-air revolutions.

Answer: Golden State Warriors

All four teams listed actually began life in states other than California. The Warriors won two NBA titles in Philadelphia before moving to San Francisco in 1962. A move across the bay to Oakland and a change of name to Golden State followed in 1971, with the franchise's third NBA crown being claimed in 1975.

The Kings started off as the Rochester Royals before moving first to Cincinnati then Kansas City, where the Kings nickname was adopted. The franchise settled in Sacramento in 1985.

The Lakers won multiple NBA titles in Minneapolis before moving to LA in 1960 and going on to even more success. The Clippers were originally the Buffalo Braves before moving to California in 1978 to become the San Diego Clippers. In 1984, they made the short journey north to Los Angeles.

Answer: UCLA

The UCLA Bruins dominated men's collegiate basketball in the 1960s/70s. Between 1964 and 1975, they won the National Championship ten times, including seven straight between 1967 and 1973. Wooden, who had joined the Bruins in 1948, retired after the 1975 title triumph.

In 1977, the NCAA honored Wooden by inaugurating the John R. Wooden Award for the best college basketball player in the nation.

Answer: Al Davis

The Oakland Raiders were one of the original franchises that took part in the AFL's first season in 1960. Davis was appointed head coach in 1962 and, after a brief spell as AFL commissioner in 1966, returned to the team as owner/general manager. He moved the team to Los Angeles in 1982, then back to Oakland in 1995, involving himself in numerous lawsuits with the NFL along the way. Davis passed away in October 2011.