CPR Baseball Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bob Meusel

Meusel was an 11-season career New York Yankee. Often overshadowed by the likes of Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Earle Combs, the outfielder held his own well. He first hit for the cycle in 1921, then three-peated it in 1922 and 1928. The first National Leaguer to hit for the cycle three times was Babe Herman.

Herman batted for the cycle twice in 1931 with the Brooklyn Robins, then a third time with the Chicago Cubs in 1933.

Answer: Willard Hershberger

The Cincinnati Reds retired the catcher's number 5 after he spent all three seasons of his career with them from 1938-1940. He was killed under mysterious circumstances in August 1940, then the Reds retired his number in honor of him. In 1942 it was finally deemed by police and investigators that Hershberger had committed suicide.

The Reds then re-activated the number 5. Johnny Bench wore the number during his storied career with the 'Big Red Machine'.

Answer: Al Spalding

Al Spalding guided his Chicago White Stockings in the National League's first season in 1876. There were eight teams in the National League and he took Chicago to the first NL pennant by besting the Hartford Dark Blues and St. Louis Brown Stockings by six games. Spalding also led the White Stockings from the mound with his 47-12 season record.

The team's season record was 52-14. Spalding pitched for only seven seasons also and retired after compiling a record of 252-65 from the mound.

Answer: Cleveland Blues

Richmond of the Worcester Ruby Legs threw a perfect game in his second season on June 12, 1880, against the Cleveland Blues of the National League. Worcester won the game 1-0. Ironically, John Ward of the Providence Grays threw baseball's second perfect game only five days later in a 5-0 win over the Buffalo Bisons. Richmond retired from baseball after only six seasons with a 75-100 record.

Answer: Chet Hoff

Born Chester Cornelius Hoff on May 8, 1891, "Red" spent only four seasons in baseball which included three with the New York Highlanders/Yankees from 1911-1913. The left-handed pitcher debuted on September 6, 1911 and would face the immortal Ty Cobb as his first batter which resulted in striking out Cobb.

His record after four seasons was only 2-4 with both wins coming on the mound for the St. Louis Browns. Chet died on September 17, 1998. He was 107 years and 132 days old.

Answer: Walter Alston

It was September 27, 1936, on the St. Louis Cardinal roster when Alston took the field at first base. He had one put-out, one error, then had a chance in his only at-bat. Walt struck out and that was it for his playing career. He later came up the ranks as a coach with the Brooklyn Dodgers, then took over the team from Chuck Dressen in 1954 and guided the Dodgers to a second place NL finish.

He managed the team in 1955 for the franchise's first-ever World Series crown against the Yankees. He stood at the head for 23 seasons with the team while taking them to seven National League pennants and four World Series titles. Alston stepped down just four games shy of the ending 1976 season due to illness and gave way to new manager Tom Lasorda. Alston later died in 1984 but not before seeing his induction into the Hall in 1983.

Answer: Leo Durocher

The Yankees began wearing uniform numbers in 1929. Durocher debuted for the team in 1925 and appeared in only two games. He left baseball for two seasons and then came back to the Yankees in 1928. He took the number 7 for the 1929 season until the Cincinnati Reds bought his contract in 1930 and then wore the number 10 with them.

In 1933 he began to wear his familiar number 2 with the Cardinals and kept the number for the rest of his playing and managing career. Nicknamed "Leo the Lip" because of his 'love' for umpires, he died in 1991 at the age of 86.

He was later inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994.

Answer: Jon Rauch

Rauch debuted in 2002 with the Chicago White Sox while wearing the number 51, the same number that Randy Johnson was famous for. Rauch was certified at 6' 11" and 290 lbs. Jon was 2-1 as a rookie and then was traded to the Expos in 2004. After Montreal he moved around a lot in his 11 seasons of baseball.

He played for the Nationals, Diamondbacks, Twins, Blue Jays, Mets, and Marlins also. While with Arizona, he pitched with teammate Randy Johnson who was certified at 6' 10". Rauch retired in 2013 with a 43-40 career record.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

The great Lou Gehrig hit four home runs in a game against the Philadelphia Athletics on June 3, 1932. The Yankees embarrassed the Athletics 20-3. Lou hit 34 home runs in that season and 493 in his shortened career. After benching himself and retiring in 1939, Henry Louis Gehrig died in 1941 with a disease later named after him.

In a special Hall of Fame ceremony, he was the first player inducted into the Hall in the same year that he played. His jersey number 4 was also the first number retired in baseball history.

Answer: Minnie Minoso

Minnie played in 17 seasons off and on from 1949-1980. He led the American League and Major League Baseball in 10 consecutive seasons for being hit by a pitch from 1951-1961 with the White Sox and Indians, with the exception of the 1955 season. He lost that title to Nellie Fox of the White Sox who was hit 17 times in 1955. Minoso was hit 192 times in his career.

The outfielder died on March 1, 2015 at the age of 89.