As promised to one and all, here are the answers to the Trivial Matters column that ran two weeks ago. I appreciate all of the responses that readers sent in during this time.
Some of the respondents did not know the answers but gave me some humorous responses, for which I will give them some credit after the true answer.
1. The first person inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame was Ty Cobb.
2. The only Braves player to play in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta was Eddie Matthews.
3. The only player to be inducted into both the Baseball and Football Halls of Fame was Cal Hubbard.
4. The first goaltender to wear a hockey mask was Jacques Plante.
5. The last baseball player to hit four home runs in a single game was 'Slick-hittin'' Mark Whiten.
6. The college that has produced the most winning quarterbacks in the Super Bowl was the University of Alabama, and the three players were Bart Starr, Joe Namath and Ken Stabler.
7. The punter was Lee Johnson, and the punt returner was John Taylor on the play.
8. The only Super Bowl MVP to play for the losing team was Chuck Howley, although UW student Jason Bares put it best when he said, 'Good question, wish I had a good answer.'
9. Steve Carlton is second on the all-time strikeout list.
10. The only player in baseball history to complete an unassisted triple play in the World Series was Bill Wambsganss.
However, Bares definitely had the most creative response to this question as he answered it correctly.
He wrote, 'Yeah, I cheated and looked this one up, but only to prove to myself that there's no way any sane person would know this off the top of their head.'
11. Besides pinch running, the seven ways to reach first base safely are: single, base on balls, hit by a pitch, catcher interference, error, fielder's choice and a dropped third strike.
12. The five different situations in which a player can score a goal in hockey are even-strength, power play, short handed, penalty shot and empty net. Mario Lemieux is the only player to accomplish the feat.
13. The three-point shot was first introduced into college basketball in 1980.
14. The youngest player to play in a baseball game was Fred Chapman at the age of 14 in the American Association, but it was Joe Nuxhall at the age of 15 in the majors.
15. The only two pitchers to strikeout as many players in a game as their age were Bob Feller with 17 strikeouts and Kerry Wood with 20 Ks.
16. The only baseball MVP for a last-place team was Andre Dawson for the Chicago Cubs in 1987.
17. The NFL player that played in the most consecutive games was Jim Marshall.
18. The college football team that has the most consecutive victories is Mount Union with 54. The Division I-A record is held by Oklahoma with 47 consecutive victories.
19. The six signal callers of the 1983 NFL Draft were John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien and Dan Marino.
20. The first black player in the American League was Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians.
21. The only player to win baseball MVP's in both leagues is Frank Robinson.
22. The five Hall of Famers that Carl Hubbell stuck out in order were Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin.
23. The quarterback that Brett Favre replaced was Don Majkowski.
24. The head coach for the Redskins after Vince Lombardi was George Allen.
This may have been the most creative answer, once again from Jason Bares.
'I don't know, but I bet they wouldn't have waited this long to cut Jeff George,' Bares said.
The point is taken and agreed with, Jason.
25. The player who scored the 'Hand of God' goal was Diego Maradona of Argentina.
Bonus: Guy Hecker in 1892.
The winner of the contest was Mike Helminger. Go ahead Mike. You get one paragraph:
'Some consider baseball America's pastime. Truly, however, it is war. We have fought in 12 major wars over three centuries, tallying a record of 10-0-2. We have endured attacks, rationing and pot-smoking smelly hippies protesting all to no avail. Nothing captures America's attention better than a good fight. We will not be defeated'we are the best.'
