In St. Louis, trivia is king. Every weekend brings dozens of trivia contests to church basements and gymnasiums across the metro area to raise money for various nonprofits, neighbors with overwhelming medical bills, and so on. The contests with the biggest purses draw out the most formidable “ringers”—people with a head for memorizing facts like the two bodies of water joined by the Strait of Hormuz (that would be the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea).
The Tenth Annual World’s Greatest Sports Trivia Championship, to benefit St. Patrick Center for the homeless, combined two of this burg’s great loves—trivia and sports superfandom—in a contest designed to test even the nerdiest of sports fans.
The admission, as well as the prizes, were big-time. Seats went for $100 per, and each member of the first-place table won season tickets for the 2013 St. Louis Cardinals, including one of those swanky suites with buffet, beer, and soda for every game. (So basically, a St. Louisan’s heaven-on-Earth.) Team captains have been known to recruit and pay sports-trivia ringers from across the U.S. to join their teams for this contest.
One of the aspects of the competition that’s simply astounding to the casual trivia-nik is the level of security employed to prevent cheating. Players who leave the game floor for the john must make it back before the next round begins or wait in a designated holding area, to make sure they haven’t checked a smart phone after questions have begun. Refs on elevated chairs, a la tennis umpires, continually scan the competitors to ferret out any sort of chicanery. It’s intense.
Local celebs read the questions, and the 2013 contest featured identical-twin comedians the Sklar Brothers, and current and retired athletes including Robert Quinn (Rams), Bernie Federko (Blues), Darren Pang (Blackhawks), Kelly Chase (Blues), and D’Marco Farr (Rams).
The 2013 winning team, “The Honeybadgers,” notched an astonishing 92 out of 100 questions correct.
We’ll give you 20 questions—plus a special, extra-tough, numerical tiebreaker question—selected from the 2013 contest this week, and the answers next week. In the spirit of the competition, do your best to answer them with no help from the Internet.
Who is the youngest player ever inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame?
What current NFL running back is nicknamed “The Law Firm”?
What Kansas City Chiefs player recorded seven sacks in a 1990 game against the Seattle Seahawks, setting a single game record that still stands?
What NFL legend and Hall of Famer was an outfielder for the 1919 New York Yankees?
Who is the sports announcer doing the play-by-play in Meatloaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights”?
In the movie Caddyshack, Rodney Dangerfield’s character Al Czervik danced in the middle of the fairway to what song?
Name the classic song that contained these lyrics: “I spent some time in the Mudville Nine, watchin’ it from the bench”.
What is the furthest round Missouri has reached in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament?
Name one of the two states that have never had a school participate in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
This year, with his 15th straight selection, Kobe Bryant broke the record he shared with three other players for the most consecutive years named as a starter to the NBA All-Star game. Name two of the three other players.
Which of these cities has never been home to an NBA franchise?
• Syracuse, NY
• San Diego, CA
• Vancouver, BC
• Omaha, NE
• Rochester, NY
Which of the following sports will not be included in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro?
• Rugby
• Taekwondo
• Sailing
• Squash
• Golf
• Badminton
The last Major League Baseball hurler to pitch 300 or more innings in a season did so in 1980. Who was he?
Which holes make up “Amen Corner” at the Augusta National Golf Course?
2008 marked the 100th anniversary of the Cubs’ last World Series championship. Since then, they have lost the World Series seven times. In what year was their last appearance in the World Series?
In 1974, Chris Evert was one of the top three money winners in two different sports. One was tennis, what was the other?
In December 2012, Jerry York became the NCAA’s winningest all-time hockey coach. At what school is he currently coaching?
This father and son won Rookie of the Year honors, one in the NFL and one in the NBA. Who are they?
In what sport would you hear the terms “stale fish” and “mulekick”?
Michael Phelps is the all-time leader in Olympic medals won with a total of 22. The next three athletes on the list are from the Soviet Union and competed in what sport?
Tribute to Stan the Man Tie-Breaker: Add up the following 4 answers for your tie- breaker total. Note: These apply to career regular season stats only.
Career regular season extra base hits for Stan:
Career regular season total bases for Stan:
Career regular season walks for Stan:
Career All Star game appearances for Stan:
TOTAL:
