Baseball Hotchpotch Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ralph Branca

Ralph Branca (b. 1926) played in the majors from 1944-1956 playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Detroit Tigers and NY Yankees. On this day (Game 3) he was the relief pitcher to Don Newcombe (b. 1926) at the bottom of the ninth inning with Giants players on second and third bases and surrendered a walk-off home run to Thomson. Ironically, Branca wore the number 13 for the 1951 season. Clem Labine (1926-2007) was the Dodgers winning pitcher in game 2 of that series. Sal Maglie (1917-1992) was the Giants starting pitcher in game 3.

Answer: None

Hoyt Wilhelm (1922-2002) started his career with the New York Giants in 1952. He was not a starting pitcher very often as he was mainly used as a specialist relief pitcher in which he won 124 games. He was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves (finishing with 227) and was the first pitcher to appear in 1,000 games.

He was wounded in WWII at the Battle of the Bulge and played his entire career with a piece of shrapnel lodged in his back as a result of his injury.

Answer: They were both wearing No. 44

Al Downing (b. June 28, 1941) batted right-handed but threw left-handed. He started his career with the New York Yankees in 1961 and finished up with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977. He made the All-Star team in 1967. Hank Aaron (b. February 5, 1934) batted and threw right-handed and finished with 755 home runs in a career that spanned 1954-1976. Both Al (1970) and Hank (1975-1976) spent time at the Milwaukee Brewers but not at the same time.

Answer: Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders (b. 1967) is a former footballer and baseball player. He was the first person to play in a Super Bowl and World Series. He played on two winning Super Bowl teams with the San Francisco 49ers (1995) and Dallas Cowboys (1996). He played in the 1992 World Series with the Atlanta Braves but were beaten by Toronto Blue Jays.
Carl Hubbard (1900-1977) is the first person to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (as a player) and the Baseball Hall of Fame (as an umpire). He never played in MLB.
Brian Jordan (b.1967) played in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons as a safety and played for four teams in MLB as an outfielder and finished his career with 184 home runs.
Bo Jackson (b. 1962) was the first person to be named an All-Star in two major American sports. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1985 and played in the All-Star game in 1989 and the following year played in the Pro Bowl.

Answer: 108

They are sewn by hand with the first and last stitches being hidden. There is 88 inches of waxed red thread that is used. A machine is not used to sew the balls and 80% of them are made and hand sewn in China. There are 216 single stitches on a baseball.

Answer: Mathews/Westrum/Donatelli

The cover showed Eddie Mathews (Milwaukee Braves) at bat, Wes Westrum (New York Giants) as catcher and Augie Donatelli behind the plate at Milwaukee County Stadium. Sports Illustrated is a sports media franchise owned by Time Inc. The concept was the idea of Henry Luce (Time patriarch) and it was not profitable for the first 12 years.

The magazine's fortunes turned around when Andre Laguerre became its Managing Director in the early 1960s. Eddie Mathews (1931-2001) hit 512 home runs in his 17 years in MLB. Wes Westrum (1922-2002) played 10 years with the New York Giants from 1947-1957. Augie Donatelli (1914-1990) was an umpire in MLB for 23 years in the National League.

Answer: Bill Klem

Bill Klem (1874-1951) from Rochester, New York umpired in 5,368 games and worked a record 18 World Series over a career spanning 37 years from 1905-1941. Bruce Froemming (b. 1939) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin umpired in 5,159 games in a career also spanning 37 years (1971-2007) and he worked in 5 World Series.

He ejected NY Yankees manager Billy Martin in Game 4 of the 1976 World Series. Tommy Connolly (1870-1961) from Manchester, England and emigrated with his family to the USA in 1885. He umpired in 4,768 games and worked in 8 World Series. Connie Mack (1862-1956) from East Brookfield, Massachusetts holds the record for the most wins (3,731), the most losses (3,948) and games managed (7,755) than any other manager.

He managed the Pittsburgh Pirates (1894-1896) and the Philadelphia Athletics (1901-1950) winning 5 World Series.

Answer: Ralph Kiner

Ralph Kiner (1922-2014) was an outfielder who played for the Pirates, Cubs and Indians from 1946-1955. He lead the NL in home runs from 1946-1952 while with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Injuries forced his retirement but he finished with 368 HR's and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. Babe Ruth (1895-1948) lead the AL twelve times in HR's but only six were consecutive (1926-1931). Mike Schmidt(b.1949) lead the HR hitters eight times in the NL with Philadelphia Phillies but not consecutively. Harmon Killibrew (1936-2011) lead the AL in HRs for six seasons with the Minnesota Twins (5) and Washington Senators (1).

Answer: Lonnie Smith

Lonnie Smith (b. 1955) made his debut for the Phillies in 1978 and then had periods at the Cardinals, Royals, Braves, Pirates and Orioles. He was a World Series winner for the Phillies (1980), Cardinals (1982) and Royals (1985). He played for the Braves in the 1991 and 1992 World Series but was on the losing side. Yogi Berra (1925-2015) played in 14 World Series for the NY Yankees and was a winner 10 times. Jack Quinn (1883-1946) was the oldest player to appear in a World Series aged 46 in 1930 for the Philadelphia Athletics. Mike Morgan (b.1959) played for 12 teams over a 24 year career (1978-2002) and was a World Series winner with Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.

Answer: Joe Gordon

Ted Williams (1918-2002) played his entire 19 year career with the Boston Red Sox (missing 3 years due to WWII in the Navy and Marine Corps). He did win the AL MVP in 1946 and 1949. Ted also spent 2 years of active service in Korea where he flew 39 combat missions. Towards the end of his career he flew as a wingman for a young pilot named John Glenn. Joe Gordon (1915-1978) was a second baseman who played for the NY Yankees (1938-1946) and the Cleveland Indians (1947-1950).

He was a World Series winner with the NY Yankees on 5 occasions.

He was the first second baseman to hit 20 HR's in a season and did it several times. Mort Cooper (1913-1958) was the NL MVP in 1942 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999) won the AL MVP in 1939, 1941 and 1947. Stan Musial (1920-2013) won the NL MVP with St. Louis Cardinals in 1943, 1946 and 1948.