Sport in The District of Columbia Quiz

Answer: New York Giants

The first Washington Senators were founded in 1901 and were so generally unsuccessful that there was a music hall joke that Washington was "first in peace, first in war and last in the American League". They did however reach the World Series three times, defeating the Giants to win the title in 1924.

They lost to the Pirates the following year and were defeated by the Giants in 1933. In 1961, they relocated to Minnesota to become the Twins, and were replaced immediately by an expansion team who were confusingly also known as the Senators.

This "new" version of the team were even less successful than their predecessors, and departed to Dallas in 1972 where they changed their name to the Texas Rangers.

Answer: CONCACAF Champions League

D.C. United were founded in 1996 as one of the original MLS franchises and played home games at RFK Stadium until moving into their own stadium, Audi Field, in 2017. Victory in the 1997 MLS Cup game saw them qualify for the 1998 CONCACAF Champions League. They had home advantage for the final, and defeated Mexico's Deportivo Toluca 1-0 to lift the trophy.

Answer: Lakers

Elgin Baylor was born in Washington in 1934 and was the number one pick in the 1958 NBA draft by the Minneapolis Lakers. Playing at small forward, he helped his team to the NBA finals in his debut season, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. After the team relocated to Los Angeles in 1960, Baylor was part of seven more finals teams, and lost on every occasion, six more times to the Celtics and once to the New York Knicks. Ironically, after retiring through injury early in the 1971-72 season, the Lakers finally ended their drought later that same season, and they gave Baylor a championship ring even though he hadn't taken part in the play-offs.

Answer: Houston

Georgetown University was founded in 1789 and is the oldest Catholic university in the USA. Their unusual nickname comes from a Greek/Latin chant, "Hoya Saxa". The school's most successful program is the men's basketball team. Under long-time coach John Thompson Jr. they achieved their greatest triumph in 1984, defeating the Houston Cougars at the Kingdome in Seattle to win the NCAA title.

Answer: Los Angeles Raiders

The Washington Redskins were originally based in Boston before moving to D.C. in 1937. They won two pre-Super Bowl era NFL titles, and won their first Super Bowl in January, 1983, beating the Dolphins. They achieved further triumphs in January, 1988, over the Broncos, and in January, 1992, over the Bills. They met the L.A. Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII in January, 1984, but lost.

(Although the Redskins were playing home games in Landover, Maryland, in the early 21st century, they are very much Washington's team which is why they are included in this quiz and not my Maryland version.)

Answer: Basketball

The Washington Mystics are a women's basketball team who joined the WNBA in 1998. Playing home games at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in Congress Heights, the Mystics won their first league title in 2018-19, defeating the Connecticut Sun 3-2 in the finals. Head coach for this triumph was Mike Thibault, who had previously coached the Sun.

Answer: French Open

Pete Sampras was born in Washington in 1971. Turning pro in 1988, he won his first Grand Slam title at the 1990 US Open, beating Andre Agassi in the final to become the then-youngest winner of the event, aged 19. His greatest success came at Wimbledon, where he won the title seven times between 1993 and 2000.

He won two Australian Opens and five U.S. Opens but generally struggled on the red clay at Roland Garros - his best French Open performance came in 1996 when he was beaten in straight sets in the semi-final by Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Answer: Vegas Golden Knights

The Washington Capitals joined the NHL in 1974 as an expansion team and suffered through a dreadful debut season, winning only eight of their 80 games. Things didn't improve much until the 1982-83 season when they made their first play-off appearance, losing to the New York Islanders.

They reached the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 1998, losing to the Detroit Red Wings. In 2018, they finally lifted the trophy, defeating the expansion Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 in the finals.

Answer: Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a 1969 National League expansion team, who suffered from low attendances and stadium issues in the early 21st century. In 2005, they relocated to Washington, which had been without a MLB franchise since the early 1970s. In 2019, they won the franchise's first World Series title in seven games over the Astros, with pitcher Stephen Strasburg winning the MVP award.

Answer: Bullets

The Wizards were formed in 1961 as the Chicago Packers, changing their nickname to the Zephyrs the following year. They relocated to Baltimore in 1963, becoming the Bullets. They were on the move again in 1973, this time to Washington. In 1978, the Bullets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games to win the NBA finals.

In 1997, they changed their nickname to the more politically-correct Wizards.