1940s in a Bucket Trivia Game | MLB by Season

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 1940, Jimmie Foxx hit his 494th home run, surpassing which Hall of Famer's career home run total of 493?

Answer: Lou Gehrig

On August 16, Foxx hit two home runs off the Washington Senators in a 7-6 win for his Boston Red Sox. Foxx played for 11 seasons beginning in 1925 for the Philadelphia Athletics before coming to Boston. Jimmie played for 22 seasons overall, and retired with 534 home runs.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1951. Gehrig was forced to step down from baseball due to illness in 1939. Lou died in 1941. The others listed were long retired.

2. In July 1941, Yankee Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak finally came to an end. Which team put the brakes on his record streak?

Answer: Cleveland Indians

On July 17th, two Indian pitchers by the names of Al Smith and Jim Bagby stopped Joe's streak. The Yankees would still win the game 6-5, in front of a tremendous attendance of 67,000 fans at Cleveland Stadium. None of the other teams listed existed in the 1940s.

3. A Boston Braves pitcher set a Major League record in May 1942 for hitting three home runs in three consecutive at-bats in a game against the Chicago Cubs. Who was this pitcher?

Answer: Jim Tobin

On May 13th, Tobin showed his bat in addition to his arm by going the distance against the Cubs in a 6-5 Braves win. Jim played for only nine seasons and hit 17 career home runs. He retired with a 105-112 pitching record. The others listed were long retired, with Ruth retiring in 1935.

4. Which Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher developed the "blooper" pitch in 1943, a pitch that would be thrown as high as 20 feet, then hover down to the batter?

Answer: Rip Sewell

The pitch was protested by most National League teams, but was judged by the baseball brass to be a legal pitch. Umpires didn't like it either because it was too hard to judge the strike zone from the pitch. Sewell pitched for 13 seasons, and was in the middle of his career in 1943.

He went 21-9 in the season, and was the only season that he won 20 games. The others listed did not begin their careers for another 10+ seasons.

5. Which Boston Braves pitcher set a record in 1944 for throwing a 58-pitch shutout, the fewest pitches in Major League history?

Answer: Red Barrett

On August 10th, Barrett threw a two-hit shutout against the Reds in a 2-0 win. The Braves also set a record for the shortest night game at one hour and 15 minutes. The game had 7783 in attendance. Barrett went only 9-16 in the season for the Braves, then was traded to the Cardinals in 1945, going 21-9 for them.

6. In September 1945, which DiMaggio brother tied a Major League record by hitting his fourth grand slam of the season?

Answer: Vince

Unlike brothers Joe and Dom DiMaggio who played for only one team, Vince played for five teams in his 10 seasons from 1937-1946. On September 1, Vince hit his fourth big one of the season off the Boston Braves. With a month left in the season, Vince sustained an injury which sidelined him, preventing a shot at setting a new record.

He tied the record of Frank Schulte who hit four for the Cubs in 1911. Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth of the Yankees also tied Schulte's record along with Rudy York of the Tigers before Vince DiMaggio.

7. What occurred in Major League history for the first time in 1946, involving both the American and National Leagues in all the games played on one day?

Answer: All eight games scheduled were played at night

On August 9, there were four games scheduled in the AL and four games scheduled in the NL. All games were played at night for the first time in history. The games were the Tigers over the White Sox, Red Sox over the Yankees, Indians over the Browns, and the Senators over the Athletics. Only the Senators as a home team was victorious.

In the NL, the Braves defeated the Giants, the Cardinals beat the Reds, Dodgers beat the Phillies, and the Cubs defeated the Pirates. The Braves was the only NL home team to win.

8. Baseball is noted for seeing the first African-American player in the Major Leagues in 1947. His name was Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson. What field position did Robinson play in his first season?

Answer: First base

Jackie began his career on April 15th against the Boston Braves. Jackie played first base in the season, but watered some eyes with his 16 errors. The Dodgers moved him to second base in 1948 only to see another 13 errors. The Dodgers moved him around to six different positions, and he retired with 117 errors over 10 seasons. Even with the racial slurs in his rookie season and beyond, he did finish his 1947 season with a respectable .297 average, and led the league in stolen bases with 29. He was voted Rookie of the Year for the season, then won the National League MVP in 1949 over Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter of the St. Louis Cardinals. Robinson played for only 10 seasons and retired in 1956.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.

9. Which Brooklyn Dodger was traded after the 1948 season, after setting a Major League record for being carried off the field on a stretcher 11 times in that season?

Answer: Pete Reiser

Reiser was accident prone to say the least, but his crashing into the outfield walls with no regard for himself led to an abundance of injuries. In December, the Dodgers traded Pete to the Boston Braves for Nanny Fernandez and Mike McCormick. He retired in 1952 after playing with the Pirates and Cleveland, but not before being the NL runner-up MVP in 1941 to Dodger teammate Dolph Camilli. Dodger pitcher Whit Wyatt finished third in the balloting.

10. In September 1949, which Pirate pitcher shockingly died after an emergency appendectomy?

Answer: Tiny Bonham

Bonham was in his 10th season of Major League Baseball when he suddenly died on September 15. His last start prior was on August 27, when he threw a complete game 8-2 win over the Phillies. The Pirates would go on to finish 26 games behind the pennant-winning Dodgers.

Source: Author Nightmare

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1940s in a Bucket Trivia Quiz

All multiple choice with questions from the bottom of the bucket that have sitting for decades. This quiz is about the 1940s, and might be a challenge if you don't read the answer options carefully. One question for each season of the decade. :)

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