Take Me Out To The Ball Game Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sydney Cricket Ground

Originally opened in 1854, as Garrison Grounds, The Sydney Cricket Ground resides on the former lovely site of a big ol' garbage dump. The stadium can accommodate over 45,000 enthusiastic Swan watchers.

The Gabba is home to the Brisbane Lions. You'll find the Greater Western Sydney Giants at their park, Manuka Oval. Aurora Stadium is the home turf of the Hawthorne Hawks.

Answer: A swimming pool behind the outfield fence

The pool, located beyond the right-center field barrier, is rented as a suite for group parties and can accommodate 35 aquatically minded baseball fans. A "Swim at your own risk" sign might be a good idea, as dozens of home runs find a watery grave in the Arizona agua each season. The first batter to splash one was Mark Grace of the Chicago Cubs on May 12, 1998.

In 2001, Arizona won its first World Series, defeating the N.Y. Yankees, four games to three. Game seven was played in front of their adoring home fans, and the Diamondbacks won that thrilling tilt in their last at bat.

Answer: Forbes Field

The last game of the series was a seesaw affair. The Pirates led 4-0 after three innings, but by the seventh they trailed 7-4. After stepping into the batter's box to begin the ninth, "Maz" took a first pitch strike from Yanks hurler, Ralph Terry. The next pitch would decide the World Series. Terry threw, Mazeroski swung, and the ball flew over the head of Yogi Berra and over the left field wall. That round-tripper gave "The Buccos" their third World Series championship.

The three games the New Yorkers won were all routs: 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0, while the Pirates won four hotly contested tilts, none more so than game seven's 10-9 come from behind triumph. The 1960 victory was the Pirates first since 1925, when they defeated the Washington Senators, also in a seven game series.

Forbes Field stood from 1909 until 1971, when the Pirates moved to their brand new home, Three Rivers Stadium.

Answer: Hershey Sports Arena

The game was not televised, so the only witnesses to NBA history were the 4,124 fans in the Hershey (PA) Sports Arena. Chamberlain's hapless victims were the N.Y. Knicks, who managed to score 147 points yet lose by 22 (169-147).
Chamberlain who averaged (AVERAGED!) 50.4 points per game that season, connected on 36 of 63 field goal attempts. He also converted 28 of 32 foul shots, (87.5%), despite a career free throw (lack of) success rate of just 51.1%.

Chamberlain, also known by the sobriquet of "The Big Dipper", retired with a career average of 30.1 points per game, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. Through the end of the 2013-2014 season, Wilt's 100 is still the most points ever recorded by a player in an NBA game.

Answer: Polo Grounds

Relief pitcher Ralph Branca reared back and fired an 0-1 fastball that Thomson deposited into the left field seats at the Polo Grounds, the "Jints" home field. It was the culmination of a frenzied comeback by the Giants who in mid-August had trailed Brooklyn by more than a dozen games. The Giants took game one of the playoff in Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, but the Dodgers took the second tilt behind rookie Clem Labine's 10-0 gem.

When Thomson's HR ball landed in the seats, Giants announcer Russ Hodges, broadcasting the game on WMCA radio, began screaming his famous announcement (or infamous if you were a Dodger fan, as I was), "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT". (OK, Russ, calm down, we got it!). The Polo Grounders would go on to lose to the N.Y. Yankees in what was almost an anti-climatic World Series, four games to two.

Interesting fact: When Thomson hit his famous four-bagger, the batter awaiting his turn at bat in the Polo Grounds on-deck circle was a rookie named Willie Mays.

Answer: Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium held 64,185 fans on the edge of their seats on December 28, 1958 (including me). The Giants had taken their final lead when N.Y. quarterback (QB) Charlie Conerly connected on a fourth quarter, 20 yard pass to Frank Gifford that gave the Giants a 17-14 lead, which Myhra's clutch kick erased.
In OT, led by their legendary Hall of Fame QB Johnny Unitas, the Colts marched 79 yards to the Giants one yard line. "Johnny U." took the snap from center and handed it to running back Alan Ameche, who plunged into the end zone, giving Baltimore a thrilling 23-17 win for the ages.

Answer: Sportsman's Park

So here comes Eddie, striding (small steps) to the plate, as a pinch-hitter for the Browns leadoff man in the first inning of game two of a twin-bill. Wearing uniform number 1/8, he is under orders NOT to swing the bat, and so he digs in against Detroit Tiger pitcher, Bob Cain. Once Cain stops laughing, he not surprisingly proceeds to throw four consecutive balls, (I'm assuming they were all high), and Eddie takes a walk, much to the roaring delight of the 18,369 fans on hand. As he leaves the field for pinch-runner, Jim Delsing, Eddie receives a rousing ovation. He was paid $100 for his Major League debut/finale.
His 1.000 is tied for the all-time highest O.B.P. (On Base Percentage) in MLB history, a record that can never be broken.

Sportsman's Park served as the home of the American League Browns, and the National League Cardinals from 1920-1953. In 1953, the Browns left St. Louis, to become the Baltimore Orioles. Sportsman's Park was razed in 1966.

Answer: Old Trafford

Old Trafford could accommodate over 75,000 "Red Devil worshippers". Alex Ferguson who became Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999, led Manchester United to the championship in 2013, the final match of his coaching career, defeating Aston Villa 3-0.

Emirates Stadium has been the Arsenal "Gunners" park, Anfield has hosted The Liverpool Reds, and Fratton Park has been home, sweet home, to Portsmouth Pompey.

Answer: Three Rivers Stadium

Over 50,000 fans erupted at Three Rivers when a Bradshaw pass intended for John Fugua was batted in the air by Oakland's fierce hitting safety Jack Tatum, only to be grabbed inches from the ground by Harris. The big fullback took it into the end zone, giving the Steelers a most unlikely 13-7 victory, and sending them to Super Bowl VII. They lost that game 21-17 to the Miami Dolphins, who with that win, secured the first perfect season in N.F.L. history.

Three Rivers Stadium was the Steelers home field from 1970-2000, (when it also hosted Major League baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League), but it never saw a more dramatic ending to any game than that stunning one in 1972.

Answer: Municipal Stadium

On the evening of July 17, in a sweltering Cleveland Municipal Stadium, a brace of Indians pitchers held the great DiMaggio hitless, thanks in large part to a pair of hit-robbing plays by third baseman Ken Keltner. Starting pitcher Al Smith blanked the Yankee superstar in his first three chances. Then, in what was DiMaggio's last at-bat of the game, in front of 67,463 witnesses to the end of history, relief hurler Jim Bagby got Joe to ground out to shortstop Lou Boudreau. During his 56 game streak Joe.D. hit .408 with 15 home runs and 56 runs batted in. (The previous streak had been set by Wee Willie Keeler at 44 games, in 1897).

DiMaggio's "slump" didn't last long, as the next day he began another 16 game hitting streak. (If you're counting folks, that made for an amazing run of hitting safely in 72 of 73 games)!

Municipal Stadium, which was home to the Indians for 61 years (1932-1993), sat close to Lake Erie, and was often referred to as "The Mistake by the Lake". Its original moniker was Lakefront Stadium, and the name change came in 1946. In 1994, the Indians moved into their new home, Progressive Field.