Sports 101: Who Played What? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ice Hockey

Gretzky, aka "The Great One", spent 20 seasons playing ice hockey for the NHL. Born in Ontario, Canada, he began his NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers, and retired in 1999 at which time he was playing with the New York Rangers. After his retirement, Gretzky became a part owner and eventually head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.

The team filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and Gretzky moved on. In 2016, he returned to his NHL roots and became a partner and vice chairman of the Oilers franchise.

Answer: Baseball

The legendary Babe Ruth (aka "The Sultan of Swat" and "The Bambino") was born George Herman Ruth, Jr. on February 6th, 1895. Ruth spent 22 seasons playing Major League Baseball (MLB). Beginning his MLB career with the Boston Red Sox (1914-1919), he was sold to the New York Yankees (1920-1934), then ended his career after one season (1935) with the Boston Braves.

Growing up, Ruth's working parents provided little discipline or supervision, and Ruth took the opportunity to get into all kinds of mischief. At age 7, his parents decided that a local school run by Catholic monks was the solution. It was there that Ruth found a passion for baseball. One of the monks, Brother Mathias, took the boy under his wing and spent time with Ruth practicing his baseball skills. Ruth became so skilled during his years there, that the monks invited the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, Jack Dunn, to come see Ruth play. Ruth was 19 at the time, and Dunn was so impressed he offered Ruth a contract. However, because of Ruth's age, Dunn had to become his legal guardian for the contract to be legal. When Ruth's new teammates, the Orioles, saw him, they called him "Jack's newest babe". And that's how the legend's nickname was born.

Answer: American Football

"Broadway Joe" Namath spent 13 years quarterbacking for the New York Jets (1965-1976) and the Los Angeles Rams (1977). Namath had already suffered so many injuries that affected his performance by the time he joined the Rams, that he was benched as a starter for much of the season, then opted to retire. During his pro football career, Namath also began an acting career that continued after his retirement from football.

He hosted his own talk show in 1969, then went on to appear on stage, screen, and television; both as a commercial spokesman for numerous products as well as guest starring on a multitude of TV shows such as "The Love Boat", "Married...With Children", and "The Brady Bunch".

Answer: Basketball

Born Ferdinand Alcindor Lewis, Jr., Jabbar converted to Islam and changed his name in 1968. Jabbar began his NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks (1969-1975), followed by the Los Angeles Lakers (1975-1989), after which he retired from his 20 year career as center in professional basketball.

After hanging up his sneakers, Jabbar kept busy as a spokesman, public speaker, and even wrote a number of books. Diagnosed with leukemia in 2009, by 2011 he announced he was in remission. Also a passionate social activist on topics ranging from race to religion to college athletics, Jabbar was appointed to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 by President Barack Obama.

Answer: Association Football (soccer)

Born in London, England, Beckham had a 20 year career as a professional footballer (soccer in some countries). He began his pro career with Manchester United (1992-2003), and retired after a season with Paris Saint-Germaine (2013).

With his own fragrance line, endorsements, magazine covers, and TV appearances, Beckham didn't slow down a bit after his retirement. Most impressive, however, is his devotion to charitable works. A long time supporter of UNICEF, in 2015 he launched 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund which is dedicated to protecting children in danger. Founder and member of Malaria No More UK, he also supports Malaria No More US. Other charitable organizations he patronizes are Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and MLS W.O.R.K.S.

Answer: Swimming

Born in 1950, Mark Spitz was a competitive swimmer and won two gold medals at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City at the age of 18. Four years later, Spitz swam his way to 7 gold medals (plus a silver and bronze) at the 1972 games in Munich, making him the world record holder in 7 events at the time. After the 1972 Olympics, the 22 year old swimmer retired.

He turned his Olympic success and celebrity into lucrative endorsements, and a poster, posing in his swimsuit and 7 gold medals, that sold into the 7 figures. Spitz also tried his hand at television but only had minor appearances until he settled into broadcasting. He also opened his own real estate company in Beverly Hills, toured as a motivational speaker, and became a stockbroker.

Answer: Golf

In 1996, 20 year old Eldrick Tont 'Tiger' Woods officially turned pro, and in under a year was dominating the world of professional golf, ranking number one in the world in June 1997. For years Woods was the one to beat on the links, until around 2009 when allegations of his marital infidelities started coming to light. His game started to founder, and the next few years were more valleys than peaks for the golfer. In 2014, Woods had back surgery, followed by a second surgery in 2015, after which he never managed to reclaim his dominance.

In 1996, Woods opened the Tiger Woods Foundation which promotes golf among inner-city youth; and in 2006 launched the Tiger Woods Learning Center which is dedicated to providing college-access programs for underserved youth. Former President Bill Clinton was at the opening of the Learning Center in Anaheim, California. Since then, three more centers have been established - in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Stuart, Florida.

Answer: Tennis

Born in Saginaw, Michigan, both Serena and her sister Venus are professional tennis players. The girls' father, self taught through tennis instruction books and videos, began coaching the girls in tennis when Serena was just three years old.

Serena officially turned pro in 1995, and a mere two years later was already ranked 99 world wide. In 1999, Serena won her first Grand Slam singles title. Following that, Serena continued to amass Grand Slam titles, Olympic gold medals, and doubles titles with her sister. 2003 was a rough year for the tennis pro. The murder of her half sister and a knee surgery were the beginning of a slump that wound up knocking her out of the top 100 rankings by 2006. She turned the slump around but a health scare in 2011 saw her founder again. Serena kept rallying after setbacks and continued to walk away with singles and doubles titles.

Off the courts, she made a very lucrative deal with Puma when she was just starting out in her pro career, has made TV appearances, owns shares of the Miami Dolphins, and has her own clothing line. Most notably, she founded the Serena Williams Foundation, dedicated to providing education for the underprivileged, and has built schools in Africa.

Answer: Gymnastics

Having had knee surgery just five weeks prior, Mary Lou Retton wowed the world at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Scoring perfect 10s in floor and vault despite the recent surgery, and walking away with the all-around gold medal. Retton also won two silver and two bronze medals at the 1984 games. In 1985 she won her third American Cup and retired in 1986. Her accolades include being inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, and being named 'Sports Illustrated's' "Sportswoman of the Year".

Following retirement, Retton kept busy with endorsements (including being the first female athlete to grace a Wheaties box), campaigning for the Reagan Administration, TV and film appearances, and attending university.

Answer: Boxing

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., 22 year old Ali converted to Islam in 1964 and took his new name. By that time he had already won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics.

Three-time world heavyweight champion, Ali's most remarkable win was in 1964 when he defeated world champ Sonny Liston in a massive upset. With only 5 losses throughout his career, Ali officially retired from boxing in 1981.

When drafted during the Vietnam war he refused to serve on religious grounds. Convicted and sentened to 5 years, he was fined $10,000 and had his boxing license revoked. The conviction was overturned on appeal but Ali lost three years in the ring during his physical prime.

Social consciousness and philanthropy were hallmarks of this legendary man. Raised in the segregated south in the '40s, Ali was very active in the civil rights movement. After being diagnosed with Parkinsons, he created the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. Other organizations he supported included the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Special Olympics. Ali also traveled the world to help those in need, because of which he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Ali was also a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

2015 saw the beginning of a series of hospitalizations for Ali, who passed on June 3, 2016.