Throwing in the Towel Trivia Quiz

Answer: Johnny Miller

Miller surprised everyone when he won his third Pro-Am at Pebble Beach in 1994 at the age of 46, becoming the only golfer ever to win that particular contest in three different decades. To be honest, even Miller was shocked at this outcome. He was even more stunned when he counted up all tournaments he'd won at the Pebble Beach golf course, because it was his fourth in four decades.

Tom Watson was the golfer who almost robbed Miller of this sweet victory. After three rounds (68-72-67), Miller was facing a final round, one stroke behind Dudley Hart and one stroke ahead of Tom Watson. Anyone might have thought that Miller could choke (or throw in the towel, so to speak), and three- or four-putt in the final round at Pebble Beach, because many have had a hard time playing consistently at that beautiful but difficult course. Instead, Miller won a surprisingly gratifying hard-won triumph over Watson, who had had a one-stroke lead when there were only three holes left to play.

This was a wondrous end to an amazing career with 24 PGA Tour victories, with the last two coming at Pebble Beach Golf Links for Miller. Thank goodness he didn't throw in the towel!

Answer: George Foreman

George Foreman is the one who wouldn't consider throwing in the towel and who had this amazing victory. His boxing comeback will long be remembered, and many will look to him for inspiration when they are down and out.

After a ten-year retirement for religious convictions, Foreman shocked the world by deciding to return to the ring in 1987 at 38 and unmistakably out of shape. Nevertheless he managed to become the oldest world champion when his convictions paid off ten years later at the age of 48! None of the other boxers mentioned had the same story, though each of them did refuse to throw in the towel at crucial moments in their careers.

Answer: The New England Patriots

In an unbelievable upset against the Atlanta Falcons, and in a show of what it really means to come back against all odds and NOT throw in the towel, the Patriots won the game in overtime, 34-28, after a 31 point unanswered run.

Answer: The Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs, arguably the baseball team with the most faithful fans of all, won the 2016 World Series of Baseball against the Cleveland Indians, after trailing 1-3 in game four, and after not having won a World Series since 1908. This is perhaps a textbook definition of not throwing in the towel.

They dragged it out as much as they could, with an 8-7, ten-inning victory over the Indians in Game 7, which began on Wednesday night and carried on into Thursday morning. Nevertheless, it still somehow seemed to end all too soon in their sweet victory. Steve Goodman, this one's for you!

Answer: Donerail, 1913

The horse that would not throw in the towel and represented the biggest long-shot victory of the 20th century was Donerail, who surprised everyone by winning the 1913 Kentucky Derby.

It is hard to imagine any other horse being more of a longshot than Donerail. He was virtually ignored at the track and posted odds of 91-1 for the race. Just minutes after this inauspicious beginning, Donerail crossed the finish line half a length in front of the next horse, paying a better-than-respectable $184.90 for every $2 bet. Donerail wasn't a flash in the pan, either. He had a solid career at the track, running 62 more races and winning 10 of them.

Answer: True

By the year 2000, former tennis great Goran Ivanisevic seemed to be at the end of his career. An unexpected and unlucky shoulder injury forced the Croatian to sit out the rest of the 2000 season, and led many to think he'd end up throwing in the towel and retiring.

No way, Jose (or should I say Goran)! Ivanisevic entered the 2001 edition of Wimbledon ranked as the 125th-best tennis player in the world. He'd actually been given a wildcard spot in the tournament, probably partially out of pity and partially because he'd been runner up at Wimbledon three times in the past.

No one expected this Croatian has-been to have enough gumption to win against superstars Andy Roddick, Carlos Moya and Patrick Rafter, to name a few, on his way to burning the towel and winning his one and only Grand Slam title!

Answer: James "Buster" Douglas

In the mid- to late-1980's, Mike Tyson ruled the boxing ring with his well-known and well-feared iron fists. Tyson had 37 back-to-back wins before his heavyweight title defense in February 1990 in Osaka, Japan against unknown fighter James "Buster" Douglas.

Tyson enjoyed odds of 42-1 for this match. But Douglas didn't want to throw in the towel, even though the world thought he should. Everyone, and maybe even Douglas himself, was shocked when Tyson hit the mat for the literal knockout of a championship victory in the tenth round of their match, making Douglas the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Unfortunately, Douglas' glory was short, because he lost his first title defense to Evander Holyfield a short eight months later, but his win over Tyson remains one of the most memorable sporting upsets of all-time.

Answer: Signing autographs

Olympians are always at risk of injuries, but they normally expect them during practices or competitions. In a crazy turn of events, gymnast Mary Lou Retton hurt her knee in the strangest of ways: while signing autographs. But Retton would never throw in the towel.

Instead, she had knee surgery, recovered, and went on to become the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. She also won several other medals (two silver and two bronze), just to show that she wasn't a flash in the pan.

Answer: False

Actually, the opposite was true. The US team, made up of amateurs and college athletes, was the underdog who managed to beat the far-more-advantaged Soviet team of professional athletes, in what some commentators called an allegory for the Cold War.

They dubbed this victory the "Miracle on Ice", since the Soviet team had won six of the past seven gold medals at the Winter Olympics at that point, and the Americans had barely even gotten acquainted with each other before competing.

The thrilling 4-3 win over the USSR in the medal round will long be remembered. Some fans consider it perhaps the greatest victory by a United States national sports team. They followed this game with a sound 2-1 victory over Finland in the last round-robin match of the medal round to finally confirm the gold for the red, white and blue.

Answer: Colombia

Colombian soccer fans will never forget September 5, 1993. It was the day they made Argentina go to its knees in that nation's own home stadium. The qualifying match for the 1994 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and Colombia was the last day for the South American qualifiers. The athletes from Argentina, who were second in their group and were almost guaranteed a spot in the international tournament, needed to win in order to not play a play-off match against Australia. The Colombians, who were first in the group, would have qualified with a win or a draw. Amazingly, Colombia won 5-0, and on Argentine soil, with a stadium heavily populated with Argentina fans.

This is a game highly remembered for the Colombian, Argentinian, Paraguayan and Peruvian fans, because the underdog team beat the two-time World champion and (at the time) undefeated twice champion of the 1991 and 1993 COPA America, not to mention the winner of the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup. Plus, the Argentinian team had an undefeated streak of six years on their home soil. This game, a severe trouncing of the Argentine team, became a milestone in Colombia's soccer history. The win gave Colombia its third chance in a World Cup after playing the 1962 and 1990 editions, and caused the Argentine audience to give them a standing ovation for their five to zero win. Though they didn't go on to win the World Cup that year, the Colombian team's refusal to throw in the towel against Argentina is still a point of pride.