The Year in Sports: 1890 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yale University

The answers, along with Harvard (home of the Crimson), would be some of the schools that would officially form the Ivy League in 1954. Yale University (13-1), home of the Bulldogs, also defeated many of its 1890 opponents by huge margins. The 1890 Yale-Harvard game would be held at neutral site Springfield, MA. Cornell University (8-4), home of the Big Red, would lose to Harvard in Cambridge, 77-0. Dartmouth University (4-4), home of the Big Gree, would play Harvard twice. Dartmouth would lose 43-0 at Harvard and 77-0 at Dartmouth. Harvard did not play Princeton University during the 1890 season.

Answer: Scotland and England

Matches took place between February 01 and March 15 with each team participating in three matches. England and Scotland each won two games and lost one, with England losing to Wales and Scotland losing to England. Wales had one win, one draw, and one loss. Ireland had one draw and two losses. Over the years, the tournament would evolve to include France and Italy.

Scotland and England roughly lie north and south of each other.

Answer: John Ball

John Ball (1861-1940) was a golfer at the turn of the century. Although 1890 represented his only win at The Open, he would also win the Amateur Championship seven other times (in 1888, 1892, 1894, 1899, 1907, 1910, and 1912). He would also finish as runner-up in the 1892 British Open. Ball was known for the grace of his swing.

He would be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1977. A ball may be said to be rolling when in motion.

Answer: John L. Sullivan

John L. Sullivan (1858-1918) of Boston, MA, would hold the title for slightly over ten years (1882-1892). He is considered the last bare-knuckle championship boxer, although the match when he won his title was fought under the Marquess of Queensberry rules. Fights were less frequent in the later part of his career (1879-1892) with only four of his 44 matches in the years 1888-1892.

The other three choices were the three men who held the title after Sullivan in the period 1892-1905. Jack can be an informal version of John.

Answer: Riley

Riley (1887-1910) was sired by Longfellow out of Geneva. "The Life of Riley" was a popular radio show in the United States. The 64 starts he made in races led to 30 wins, 17 places and 4 shows. Muddy conditions at Churchill Downs on the day of the 1890 Derby led to Riley winning the race with a time of two minutes and 45 seconds. Riley's jockey was Isaac Murphy, with Edward Corrigan as his trainer and owner.

The other three horses listed were also part of the 1890 Kentucky Derby, but did not win.

Answer: Navy

The game was held on November 29 at West Point, NY, home of the United States Military Academy (Army). Visiting Navy would shut-out Army 24-0. (Army's first victory would come the next year in 1891 and the first tie in the series would occur in 1905.) The 1890 game against Navy represents the very first football game for Army against any team. By comparison, the 1890 team for Navy had a 5-1-1 record with the only loss coming against Lehigh University and a tie against Columbia Athletic Club.

Answer: Sevilla FC

Sevilla FC is the oldest sports club in Spain that focuses solely on association football. The team is known by several nicknames including "The Ones from Hispalis" and "The White and Reds". The team would win its first national league title in 1945-1946.

The club owes its formation in part to a large British expatriate population in Seville. The opera "The Barber of Seville" led to the idea for a pun about a "close shave".

Answer: Montreal Hockey Club

Montreal won all seven of the challenge games in which it played, scoring 28 goals with 13 goals scored on them. Montreal Hockey Club was in existence from 1884 to 1932. The Montreal Hockey Club was the champion of the AHAC from 1888 to 1893. Montreal Hockey Club would be the first team awarded the Stanley Cup in 1893.

Answer: Players' League

The Players' League may have had better players on average than either the National League or the American Association, but it only lasted for one year. There were eight teams in the league and the Boston Reds won the pennant. It would have been interesting to see the Reds in a four-team playoff with the teams from the National League (Louisville Colonels) and American Association (Brooklyn Dodgers). Would the playoffs have featured a "bye" for the best team or would a wild-card have been selected (and how)?

The Union League had games for the 1884 season. The Federal League was around for the 1914 and 1915 seasons. The Continental League was announced in 1959 and was supposed to begin play in 1961. The Continental League folded before giving play when it was apparent that Major League Baseball would add expansion teams in the 1960s.

Answer: Youngest player to win the title

Oliver Campbell (1877-1953) would also win the US Open in 1891 and 1892, after which he retired. He was also part of the men's doubles champion at the US Open in 1888, 1891, and 1892. Unlike many of the 20th and 21st century US Open matches, the matches in the late 1800s took place in Newport, RI. Campbell was aged 19 years, 6 months and 9 days old in 1890 and a student. Fellow American Pete Sampras (born 1971) was 19 years and 28 days old when he won his first US Open in 1990. Campbell would be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1955.