Tonight’s trivia came to me by way of Sara who got the questions from BaseballChica03. I only know one answer, so I’m pretty excited to read your responses. Sharpen your #2s, it’s about to get all sporty up in Persephone.
1) We’ll start off with an easy one so that the Persephoneers who are not sports fans can join in the fun. What 1955 Broadway musical features a story about a middle-aged man who sells his soul so his beloved Washington Senators will beat a well-known and much-hated team in a pennant race?
2) Which left-handed pitcher won more games than any other lefty in the history of Major League Baseball and now has a pitching award named in his honor?
3) “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” is a poem written from the point of view of a New York Giants fan, lamenting this famous infield team.
4) According to legend, which US President accidentally invented the seventh inning stretch?
5) Which player has the longest recorded career in Major League Baseball?
6) Who was the oldest rookie to play for Major League Baseball?
6 replies on “Tuesday Night Trivia: Sportsfans Edition”
1. Damn Yankees! (Whatever lola wants…)
2. CY YOUNG! (Right? Am I right?)
3. I remember the cartoon. Does that count? “And Casey Jones has struck out” But that’s as much as my memory will give.
4. Grover Cleveland? That’s a complete and utter guess. :)
5. I used to know this. I remember the game he played that broke the record. I think that’s what all the confetti and hoopla was about? But then, maybe I’m thinking of McGwire.
6. Christ, I suck at this…
My book about the Presidents tells me that two of Grover Cleveland’s nicknames were “Big Steve” and “Uncle Jumbo,” so you weren’t far off in your logic! :)
We’ve got heart, all you really need is heart
When the odds are sayin’ you’ll never win
That’s when the grin should start
First you gotta have heart
That song and many other greats appear in the musical Damn Yankees. Bob Fosse’s wife Gwen Verdon played Lola in the film version, and it’s excellent.
I didn’t what baseball until our boys played.
but I am a history buff and I worked in professional theatre for 10 years. So I will stab at #1 & #4
Damn Yankees
William Taft (mainly b/c us fat guys gotta stick together)
My guess for all of these is Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Lou Gherig.
Actually, none of them are the answer for any of the questions! I figured they’d all be too easy. Apparently we don’t have enough sports fans up in here.
I tried to pick at least a few that would overlap with other interests. (TWO of them are related to poetry, one to drama, one to history!) But maybe you just have to like baseball to want to read or remember baseball poetry. :)