The Year in Sports: 1896 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Princeton Tigers

Lafayette (11-0-1) and Princeton (10-0-1) ended the season with very similar records. An October 7 meeting between the two teams ended in a 0-0 tie. Among its 11 victories, Lafayette only gave up points to Penn and Navy. Princeton had a similar experience in its ten victories, with only Carlisle and Army scoring against the Tigers.

Answer: A National League opponent

The Baltimore Orioles (first place in the NL) defeated the Cleveland Spiders (second place in the NL) in the series. The American Association had folded after the 1891 season. The National Association, predecessor of the National League, had existed from 1871 to 1875. The Western League would not remain itself as the American League until 1901.

Ironically, both the Spiders and the Orioles (which had both jumped from the American Association to the National League) would both be shut down after the 1899 season.

Answer: Saint Petersburg, Russia

The event took place on February 9 in Yusupovsky Garden. Though the event took place in Russia, the winner represented Germany: Gilbert Fuchs. Initially, only men competed. The first female contestant competed in 1902 and a separate women's championship was held in 1906.

Answer: Victorias

The Winnipeg Victorias (of the Manitoba Hockey Association) began the year with the cup. On February 14, the Montreal Victorias (of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada) defeated Winnipeg 2-0 in a single-elimination match. On December 30, Montreal would defend the Cup in a rematch, defeating Winnipeg 6-5.

Answer: Marseilles

The race took place between September 24 and October 3 and covered 1,710 kilometers. Emile Mayade won the race in a time of 67 hours, 43 minutes. Auxerre, Dijon, Lyon, and Auvignon were intermediate stages in both halves of the race. Less than half of the 31 entrants finished the race.

Answer: Athens, Greece

Fourteen nations competed in Greece's capital from April 6-15. Which nation was the most successful depends upon your viewpoint: Greece won the most total medals, but the United States won the most gold medals. Many of the events took place in the Panathenaic Stadium.

The first Olympic Games in Paris occured in 1900. 1908 was the year of the first Olympic Games in London. Rome was the first choice for the 1908 Olympic Games before Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1906. The first Olympic Games in Rome would not occur until 1960.

Answer: Netherlands

The event took place in Saint Petersburg on February 07 and 08, shortly before the World Figure Skating Championship. Jaap Eden of the Netherlands won the the all around gold medal. He had previously won at the 1893 and 1894 events. The event took place at Joesoepovski Park.

Answer: Ireland

Ireland would win its first Home Championship by winning all three of its matches (one each against the other entrants). Ireland would outscore its opponents 15-5, including shutouts of of Scotland and Wales. Interestingly enough, each of the other three teams would finish with a record of 1-2.

Answer: Canada

Millbrook won the 1896 race in 2 minutes, 19 seconds (in an event that was 1 1/4 miles in length at the time). Harry Lewis was the jockey and John Lewis was the trainer. The race has been held in several locations over the years, mostly in Ontario, Canada, during June or July.

Answer: Australian Open

Founded as the Australasian Championship in 1905, the tournament became known as the Australian Open in 1969. It has been held in several locations, most frequently Melbourne. The Open was first played as a Major Tournament in 1924. Of the other three majors, all were founded in the 19th Century: Wimbledon in 1877, the US Open in 1881, and the French Open in 1891.