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NFL 1950s Trivia

NFL 1950s Trivia Quizzes

4 NFL 1950s quizzes and 45 NFL 1950s trivia questions.

NFL in the 1950s great trivia quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

The NFL's 1950s brought the real football for the fans and the home viewers in television. Enjoy and learn as we revisit the dawn of the NFL's golden age.

Average, 10 Qns, d2407, Jun 26 05

Average
d2407
1137 plays

1958: Colts 23, Giants 17 top quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

Many fans call the 1958 NFL Championship the "greatest game ever played." Was it memorable? Take the quiz and find out!

Average, 10 Qns, d2407, Feb 02 05

Average
d2407
928 plays

Match the NFL Champions Part 4

Match Quiz

10 Qns

This quiz asks a player to match the NFL champion to the year the team won the title.

Very Easy, 10 Qns, Shadowmyst2004, Jun 05 18

Very Easy
Shadowmyst2004
Jun 05 18
449 plays

NFL Championships of the 1950s

Multiple Choice

15 Qns

A quiz on the championship and playoff games played in the NFL in the 1950s.

Tough, 15 Qns, AdmiralShark, Aug 10 05

Tough
AdmiralShark
662 plays

NFL 1950s Trivia Questions

1. In their first year in the NFL, 1950, the Cleveland Browns advanced to the NFL title game. However, they were forced first to play a single game playoff for the American Conference title against who?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: New York Giants

Tied after the regular season with 9-3 records, the Browns won the playoff game 8-3. Lou Groza kicked two field goals in the game and the Browns got a safety when Giants' QB Charley Connolly was tackled in the end zone with eight seconds left.

2. Much of the reason the game is called the "greatest game ever played", stems from something that happened in this game that had never before happened in an NFL championship. What was that?

From Quiz 1958: Colts 23, Giants 17

Answer: The game went into sudden-death overtime

The overtime rules had quietly been put into place in 1941 by the NFL, but this was the first time that overtime had been used to settle a championship. It was actually the second time the NFL had used overtime. The first was in an August 28, 1955 exhibition game between the Rams and the Giants, won 23-17 by the Rams. In the early 1970s, the league felt that too many games were ending in ties, and implemented sudden death for regular season games starting with the 1974 season.

3. The 1950 season saw a playoff for the National Conference title between the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears. The Rams won the game 24-14. Who caught three touchdown passes in the game for the Rams?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Tom Fears

Fears caught touchdown passes of 43, 68, and 27 yards from Bob Waterfield in the victory.

4. There were veritable goldmines of excitement for our fans, as they cheered on our, "Million Dollar Backfield", in the 1950s each weekend. Which team were we?

From Quiz NFL in the 1950s

Answer: San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco's 1954-56 backfield included future Hall of Famers Y.A. Tittle at quarterback, halfback Hugh McElhenney, and fullbacks Joe Perry, and John Henry Johnson. They were the first backfield foursome from the 20th century NFL to all be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

5. Kicking for the Giants in 1958, who was a man who went on to even more success as a broadcaster?

From Quiz 1958: Colts 23, Giants 17

Answer: Pat Summerall

Summerall was a kicker for the Detroit Lions and Chicago Cardinals, before playing his final four NFL seasons with the Giants. His best season was 1959, in which he made all 30 extra point attempts and 20 of 29 field goals. He occasionally filled in as a defensive end or a pass receiver, logging one interception returned for a touchdown, and three pass receptions in his career.

6. In the 1950 NFL title game, Cleveland defeated Los Angeles 30-28 on a field goal by Lou Groza. How long was Groza's field goal?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: 16 yards

Groza's game winning field goal came with 28 seconds left.

7. Many Baltimore Colts fans would say that the wisest expenditure the club ever made cost them 80 cents in 1956. On what did they spend that money?

From Quiz NFL in the 1950s

Answer: A phone call to Pittsburgh, to invite Johnny Unitas to join the team

Unitas was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who weren't impressed with him, thinking he wasn't smart enough to remember the plays. When the Colts called him in February 1956, the man still considered by many to be the best quarterback in NFL history was in Pittsburgh, working as a pile driver operator and playing semipro ball for $3 per game. Their 80-cent telephone call brought them a quarterback who led the team to three NFL titles.

8. The Los Angeles Rams, after losses in the last two NFL title games, finally won the NFL title in the 1951 championship game by beating the Cleveland Browns. What was the final score of the game?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: 24-17

Norm Van Brocklin threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Tom Fears with seven minutes left for the winning score.

9. Which statement is true about the impact of the "BT-5" on the NFL, starting in 1955?

From Quiz NFL in the 1950s

Answer: Within just a few seasons, almost all players were wearing helmets with rigid facemasks

The "BT-5" (for "bar tubular, fifth version") was football's first successful face mask. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a few players attempted to protect their faces using lucite strips attached to their helmets, but the lucite was a safety hazard because it often shattered into sharp pieces. Lucite also fogged up from player's breath, was impairing vision. Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown helped the Riddell sporting goods company develop the BT-5 before the 1955 season to protect his quarterback Otto Graham, who'd suffered a broken jaw. Constructed from rigid plastic covered with protective rubber, the single-bar BT-5 quickly gained popularity, and within two seasons, almost all players were wearing face masks derived from it.

10. The Giants' first touchdown in this game was set up by an unusual play that gained 62 yards. What happened?

From Quiz 1958: Colts 23, Giants 17

Answer: Alex Webster picked up a Kyle Rote fumble and almost made it to the end zone

The play put the ball at the Colts' one, from where Mel Triplett slammed the ball across to bring New York to within 14-10.

11. The Detroit Lions advanced to their first NFL title game in 17 years in 1952. However, first they had to beat the Los Angeles Rams in a National Conference playoff game, which they did 31-21. Where was the game played?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Detroit

The game was played at Briggs Stadium in Detroit on December 21, 1952.

12. In the 1952 NFL title game, the Detroit Lions won their first NFL championship with a 17-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. Who scored the winning touchdown for the Lions with a 67-yard run in the third quarter?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Doak Walker

Walker's touchdown put the Lions up 14-0 in the third quarter. Chick Jagade scored for the Browns from the seven, but they could not get any closer.

13. Why did an NBC television executive wander onto the field shortly before the Colts finally won the game, stopping play?

From Quiz 1958: Colts 23, Giants 17

Answer: An equipment failure had disrupted the national broadcast of the game

Television equipment was prone to failure in 1958, and with viewers hanging on every play and NBC celebrating its broadcast triumph, disaster happened. The broadcast signal went dead, knocking the telecast off the sets of millions of viewers. Thinking quickly, an NBC executive pretended to be a disoriented drunk and wandered on to the field, creating a stir. While officials dealt with that disturbance, the network discovered that someone had merely unplugged a power cord. The connection was restored, and the broadcast resumed 2 1/2 minutes later. Fans at home missed two plays, but saw the finish.

14. The Detroit Lions won their second straight NFL title by defeating the Cleveland Browns 17-16 in 1953. Who was responsible for scoring the game-tying touchdown late in the game for the Lions?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Jim Doran

Doran scored on a 33-yard pass from Bobby Layne late in the game to tie the game. Doak Walker then kicked the extra point to give the Lions the win.

15. Call us the 1950s NFL Team of the Decade. No other team won more than the three titles we won from 1950-59. Who are we?

From Quiz NFL in the 1950s

Answer: Both Browns and Lions

The Browns won titles in 1950, 1954, and 1955. The Lions won in 1952, 1953, and 1957. The 1950s had the unusual distinction of having two teams win three titles in the decade, and having three teams (Browns, Lions, and 1958-59 Colts) win consecutive titles.

16. The 1954 NFL title game was Detroit play Cleveland for the third straight year. This time, Cleveland prevailed. Maybe crushed is a better word, as the Browns won the game 56-10. Who scored the most touchdowns for the Browns in the game?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Otto Graham

Graham scored on runs of one, five, and one yard. He also threw for three touchdowns in the game.

17. Why did Cleveland Browns quarterback George Ratterman have a radio in his helmet during the 1956 season?

From Quiz NFL in the 1950s

Answer: So his coach could call plays from the sidelines

Browns coach Paul Brown, one of the most innovative minds football ever saw, probably reached too far with his 1956 radio helmet. Faced with a new quarterback after coaching no one but the legendary Otto Graham, Brown thought that a small radio receiver in Ratterman's helmet would allow him to call plays from the sideline without substituting a player into the huddle. Unfortunately, radio technology in 1956 was relatively primitive, so much of the time, Ratterman would have to stand far from the other players, turning slowly until he could pick up Brown's voice. He often received other signals, including taxi dispatchers when the Browns played in Chicago. And opposing defenses loved to slap Ratterman's helmet in hopes of dismantling the electronics. The NFL banned the radio helmets a few games into the 1956 season, although the devices, finally working the way Brown had envisioned, were again legalized in 1994.

18. Who scored the Colts' winning touchdown?

From Quiz 1958: Colts 23, Giants 17

Answer: Alan Ameche

The iconic photograph of Ameche, head down, running through the wide opening into the end zone, in the eerie shadows of late afternoon Yankee stadium, is one of the most enduring images in American sports.

19. The 1955 NFL title game featured the Cleveland Browns' second straight championship (38-14 over the Los Angeles Rams) and the retirement of Otto Graham. How many interceptions did the Browns make against Rams' quarterbacks in the game?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: 7

The Browns intercepted Norm Van Brocklin six times in the game and his replacement, Billy Wade, one time.

20. It was a great game, but many Giants players and fans insist it never should have gone into overtime, and that the Giants actually won. Why?

From Quiz 1958: Colts 23, Giants 17

Answer: The officials denied Frank Gifford a first down late in the game that could have allowed the Giants to run out the clock

With less than three minutes to play, the Giants had the ball and a third-and-four. Frank Gifford ran more than three yards before disappearing into a pile of Colts. One of the Colts broke his leg on the play and the officials were more intent on getting medical attention to the injured player than in spotting the ball. When the ball finally was spotted, it was short of a first down. The Giants punted, the Colts got the ball on their 14, and history was about to unfold. Giant players and fans continue to maintain that Gifford made the first down.

21. In the 1956 NFL title game, the New York Giants won their first championship since 1938 with a 47-7 win over the Chicago Bears. Who scored the only Bears' touchdown in the game?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Rick Casares

Casares' touchdown came on a nine-yard run. The score came with the Giants already leading 20-0.

22. Elroy Hirsch? I let my Mom and Dad call me that, but I prefer my football nickname, given to me for my incredible abilities as a runner and receiver. What's my nickname?

From Quiz NFL in the 1950s

Answer: Crazy Legs

"Hirsch ran like a demented duck. His crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions all at the same time," wrote a Chicago sportswriter after seeing him play in college, and from that point on, Elroy Hirsch was known as "Crazy Legs." After he helped his Rams team win the 1951 NFL championship, quarterback Norm Van Brocklin said of him, "Talk about the gent who zigged when he should have zagged. Roy also has a zog and a couple of varieties of zug when he's under full steam." Hirsch later served as general manager of the Rams, and later athletic director for University of Wisconsin, before passing away in 2004.

23. This game set a NFL record for longest NFL game played. Another record was also set in this game. What was the record, and who set it?

From Quiz 1958: Colts 23, Giants 17

Answer: Raymond Berry, most receptions in a championship game

Berry's 12 receptions broke Cleveland's Dante Lavelli's record of 11, set in the 1950 NFL title game. Two of Berry's catches came in the overtime period, accounting for 33 of the 80 yards the Colts drove toward their historic game-winning touchdown.

24. To reach the 1957 NFL title game, the Detroit Lions played a one-game playoff for the Western Conference title against who?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: San Francisco 49ers

Trailing 27-7 at one point, the Lions scored the last 24 points in the game to win 31-27.

25. In the 1957 title game, the Detroit Lions got revenge for the Cleveland Browns trouncing them in 1954 by defeating the Browns 59-14. Who scored the most touchdowns for the Lions in the game?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Steve Junker

Seven different players scored a total of eight touchdowns for the Lions in the game. Steve Junker scored on touchdown passes of 26 and 33 yards from Tobin Rote. Bobby Layne missed the game with a broken ankle.

26. The 1958 NFL title game was called "The Greatest Game Ever Played". However, to make that game, the New York Giants had to play a one-game playoff for the Eastern Conference title against who?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Cleveland Browns

The Giants won the game 10-0. It had been the first time the Browns had been shut out in a game since 1950.

27. In the 1958 title game, the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants 23-17 in overtime. Whose field goal at the end of regulation forced the game to overtime?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: Steve Myhra

Myhra kicked a 20-yard field goal to tie the game 17-17. Don Ameche's one-yard run in overtime gave the Colts their first championship.

28. The Baltimore Colts won their second consecutive NFL title in 1959 with a 31-16 victory over the New York Giants. How many touchdown passes did Johnny Unitas throw in the game?

From Quiz NFL Championships of the 1950s

Answer: 2

Unitas' two touchdowns came on a 60-yard TD pass in the first quarter to Lenny Moore and a 12-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to Jerry Richardson.

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