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Quiz about 1870s on the Diamond
Quiz about 1870s on the Diamond

1870s on the Diamond Trivia Quiz


The final in a series of matching quizzes by decades about baseball. I hope that you've had fun with them.

A matching quiz by dg_dave. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
dg_dave
Time
6 mins
Type
Match Quiz
Quiz #
385,168
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
122
(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.
QuestionsChoices
1. The first official organized and professional baseball league was the National Association in 1871. This team won the first pennant.  
  Buffalo Bisons
2. This slugger batted for the only Triple Crown hit in the decade.  
  Philadelphia Athletics
3. He led the National Association in hits three times in the league's five-year existence.  
  Levi Meyerle
4. This team won the most National Association pennants in the league's five-season existence.  
  Al Spalding
5. Winning 19 games, this pitcher led the National Association in their first season in 1871.  
  Boston Red Stockings
6. The National League began in 1876 with eight teams. This team had by far the worst record in the inaugural season.  
  Frank Chance
7. This team won the most National League pennants in the decade.  
  Boston Red Stockings
8. As fans watched the first season of the National League in 1876, they were unaware of this Hall of Famer that was born in the season.  
  Cincinnati Reds
9. This team was not part of the nine teams in the National Association on opening day on May 20, 1871.  
  Ross Barnes
10. This player had the highest season batting average in the entire decade.  
  Paul Hines





Select each answer

1. The first official organized and professional baseball league was the National Association in 1871. This team won the first pennant.
2. This slugger batted for the only Triple Crown hit in the decade.
3. He led the National Association in hits three times in the league's five-year existence.
4. This team won the most National Association pennants in the league's five-season existence.
5. Winning 19 games, this pitcher led the National Association in their first season in 1871.
6. The National League began in 1876 with eight teams. This team had by far the worst record in the inaugural season.
7. This team won the most National League pennants in the decade.
8. As fans watched the first season of the National League in 1876, they were unaware of this Hall of Famer that was born in the season.
9. This team was not part of the nine teams in the National Association on opening day on May 20, 1871.
10. This player had the highest season batting average in the entire decade.

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The first official organized and professional baseball league was the National Association in 1871. This team won the first pennant.

Answer: Philadelphia Athletics

Of the nine teams who were in the league, the Athletics won the first pennant with their 21-7 record under the management and pitcher Dick McBride who went 18-5 in the season. Levi Meyerle led the team and league with his .492 batting average also. The Chicago White Stockings was the runner-up team with their 19-9 record.
2. This slugger batted for the only Triple Crown hit in the decade.

Answer: Paul Hines

Hines spent 20 seasons in professional baseball from 1872-1891. In 1878 as an outfielder for the Providence Grays of the NL, he led the league in home runs, RBIs, and batting average which makes up the batting Triple Crown Award. Paul retired with a .302 batting average along with 855 RBIs. He died in 1935 at the age of 80.
3. He led the National Association in hits three times in the league's five-year existence.

Answer: Ross Barnes

Barnes led the league as a Boston Red Stocking second baseman and shortstop in 1872, 1873, and 1875. He would win his fourth hits title in 1876 with the new National League and the Chicago White Stockings. Teammate Cal McVey would win the other two hits titles in the NA in 1871 and 1874.
4. This team won the most National Association pennants in the league's five-season existence.

Answer: Boston Red Stockings

After the Philadelphia Athletics won the inaugural pennant in 1871, the Red Stockings won the remaining four pennants from 1872-1875. With Harry Wright as the manager and in the outfield, the team was led by the bats of Ross Barnes and Cal McVey, and the tremendous arm of pitcher Al Spalding.

After the National Association closed their doors in 1875, most of the team joined the Boston Red Stockings of the new National League in 1876 under Harry Wright again. The team won the second and third NL pennant in 1877 and 1878.
5. Winning 19 games, this pitcher led the National Association in their first season in 1871.

Answer: Al Spalding

Although going just 19-10 and leading the league, Spalding led his Boston Red Stockings to a third place finish behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Stockings. Not only did Spalding win the first season's pitching title, he won them all from 1871-1875.

He won 50+ games in two of those seasons also. Al wasn't done though. When the NA closed their doors in 1875, he joined the new National League's Chicago White Stockings as a manager and pitcher and went 47-12 to win the title again in 1876.

At 26 years of age in 1877, he decided to play first base and went only 1-0 from the mound in the season. Al walked away from baseball as a player and manager after the season with only seven seasons under his belt. He died in 1915 and the Hall of Fame inducted him in 1939.
6. The National League began in 1876 with eight teams. This team had by far the worst record in the inaugural season.

Answer: Cincinnati Reds

Apparently nobody told the Reds that the league wasn't a joke. They completed the first season with a 9-54 record under the management of Charlie Gould. They watched the Chicago White Stockings win the NL pennant by 42.5 games ahead of them. The Reds couldn't hire anyone to their roster that hit .275 or a pitcher that could win five games.

The Reds would close the doors on their own team in 1880. A brand new unaffiliated franchise would emerge in 1882 in the American Association that went to the National League in 1890. That was the Reds franchise known throughout the 20th Century.
7. This team won the most National League pennants in the decade.

Answer: Boston Red Stockings

There were only four seasons left in the 1870s after the league started in 1876. The first pennant-winner was the Chicago White Stockings in 1876, then the Red Stockings won two consecutive, and the Providence Grays won the final NL pennant of the decade in 1879.

The Boston Red Stockings were in the National Association from 1871-1875, then joined the NL when the NA closed their doors. The Red Stockings won four of five pennants in the NA, then picked up where the left off by continuing to dominate in the National League.
8. As fans watched the first season of the National League in 1876, they were unaware of this Hall of Famer that was born in the season.

Answer: Frank Chance

Chance played and managed in the big leagues from 1898-1923. Frank Leroy Chance was born on September 9th in Fresno, California. He spent most of his career at first base and debuted with Chicago in 1898. He was player/manager in the Cubs' heyday from 1906-1910 when he took the team to four National League crowns including two World Series titles.

He died in 1924 just one season after managing the Red Sox. The Hall inducted him in 1946.
9. This team was not part of the nine teams in the National Association on opening day on May 20, 1871.

Answer: Buffalo Bisons

The Bisons appeared in the Players League in 1890. They were never in the National Association. Ironically, the Buffalo Bisons were rostered by catcher Connie Mack, third baseman Deacon White, and outfielder Dummy Hoy. The team still finished in last place of eight teams in the only season of the league with their dismal 36-96 record.

The Boston Reds won the only pennant led by manager King Kelly with their 81-48 record, then the league closed their doors.
10. This player had the highest season batting average in the entire decade.

Answer: Levi Meyerle

Meyerle was in his first season of professional baseball as was the National Association in 1871. As a Philadelphia Athletic, Levi batted an amazing .492. He finished just four RBIs short of being baseball's first-ever Triple Crown hitter. He retired after eight seasons with a .356 batting average.

A tremendous hitter, Levi's career average did not qualify for the record books as he played in only 307 career games, short of the 500-game appearance requirement. The other requirement is a minimum of 3000 career plate appearances.

He had only 1453. He also did not qualify for season marks in the record books. Meyerle played in the National Association, the National League, and the Union Association in the league's only season in 1884.
Source: Author dg_dave

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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