Colored Baseball Players Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rusty Staub

Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub had a secondary nickname of 'Le Grand Orange' because of his hair color. He was in it for the long haul of 23 seasons with the Colt .45s/Astros, then the Expos, Mets, Tigers, and Rangers. The only major category that Rusty led the league in was hitting 44 doubles in 1967 with Houston.

He finished fifth for the AL MVP in 1978 with the Tigers. Staub retired in 1985 as a New York Met.

Answer: Deacon White

White was the second player to win a batting title in two leagues, the first being Ross Barnes. White won his first title in 1875 with the Boston Red Stockings of the NA in the final season of the league with his .367 average. He went on to win the title again in the second season of the National League in 1877 with the Red Stockings again.

In 20 seasons from 1871-1890, Deacon played every position on the field. He had 2067 hits with a .312 career average. White died in 1939 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 2013.

Answer: Don Sutton

Donald Howard "Black and Decker" Sutton began his career as a Los Angeles Dodger in 1966 and played there before signing as a free-agent with the Astros in 1980. As a Dodger he finished in third, fourth, and fifth three times for the NL Cy Young Award.

His only 20-win season was in 1976 when he went 21-10. Don went to four World Series, three with the Dodgers and one with the Brewers but lost all of them. He retired in 1988 after returning to the Dodgers and was inducted into the Hall in 1998 with his 324-256 record.

Answer: Mordecai Brown

Born in 1876, Brown was involved in farming accident at the age of 11 which took the ends of two fingers off his right hand. Mordecai still learned to pitch with the disability and joined the St. Louis Cardinals with the nickname of 'Three Fingers Brown' in 1903.

He went 9-13 as a rookie. For the next nine seasons he wore a Chicago Cubs uniform and was a 20-game winner in six seasons while leading the league with his 1.04 ERA. He helped the Cubs to four World Series appearances while winning two.

He then played for the Reds, then three teams in the Federal League in 1914 and 1915. He came back to the Cubs in 1916 and retired with a 239-130 career record from the mound. Brown was inducted into the Hall in 1949 by the Old Timers Committee.

Answer: Red Schoendienst

Albert Fred 'Red' Schoendienst began his career with the Cardinals in 1945 as an outfielder but was then was moved to second base. He stayed in St. Louis until 1956 when he became a New York Giant, then later a Milwaukee Brave. He went to three World Series, a Cardinal win and a Braves 1-1 record.

After retiring in 1963, he became a manager of the Cardinals in 1965 and managed them for his entire managing career of 14 seasons. He took the team to a World Series crown in 1967 and another NL pennant in 1968.

He stepped down from the podium in 1990. Red was inducted as a player by the Veteran's Committee into the Hall in 1989.

Answer: Hank Greenberg

Hank joined the Tigers in 1930 and played in only one game. Thank goodness for the team and fans that he came back for his second season in 1933 where he hit 12 home runs and batted .301. Two seasons later he would win the AL MVP. In 1938 Hank would bang out 58 home runs in the season but finish third for the MVP behind Jimmie Foxx and Bill Dickey. Greenberg's second AL MVP would come in 1940.

After 12 seasons with the Tigers, the Pirates bought his contract for the 1947 season and after the season Hank retired.

He was inducted into the Hall in 1956.

Answer: Vida Blue

Vida played in limited duty with the 1969 and 1970 Oakland Athletics. In 1971 he exploded with his 24-8 record, eight shutouts, a 1.82 ERA, and over 300 strikeouts. This earned him the Cy Young Award over Tiger Mickey Lolich and the MVP over teammate Sal Bando.

He would crash with his 6-10 record in 1972 then would regain himself in 1973 with a 20-9 season record. He won another 22 games in 1975. In 1978 Vida moved across the bay in a multi-player trade with the Giants. Blue retired in 1986 with the Giants after a short stint with the Kansas City Royals. Vida had a 209-161 career record.

Answer: Michael Higgins

Nicknamed 'Pinky", Higgins signed with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1930. After his fifth season in Philadelphia, the team traded him to the Red Sox. After two seasons in Boston, Pinky would become a Detroit Tiger for another seven seasons before retiring in 1946 with the Red Sox again. Higgins died in 1969 at the age of 59.

The name "Pinky" came from the days before he even walked and he never liked the name through life.

Answer: Dallas Green

George Dallas Green started his Major League career as a Philadelphia Phillie in 1960. He also pitched for the Senators and Mets over his eight-season career, retiring with a dismal 20-22 record. In 1979 at the age of 45 he took the helm of the Phillies to a second place finish.

The following season was glorious for the team and Phillies fans for their first-ever World Series crown ever in 1980 against the Royals. The Phillies had the help of Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, and pitcher Steve Carlton. Dallas went on to manage the Yankees and Mets with no results and totally retired from baseball in 1996.

Answer: Ty Cobb

Cobb was born in 1886 and entered Major League Baseball in 1905 with the Detroit Tigers. He would be a Tiger for 22 seasons. He led the league in hits eight times and batting average 11 times. The 'Georgia Peach' hit for the Triple Crown Award and was the 1911 AL MVP. Cobb went to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1927 for two seasons and then retired in 1928 with a .366 batting average, the best in baseball at the time.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the first round of inductions in 1936, and died in 1961 in Georgia.