Monday, February 25, 2013

February 18-24, 2013 "Downton Abbey" Roles


MONDAY
Q.         What Rookie of the Year would have been sent down but for the insistence of his Hall of Fame manager?
Hint:     He wore uniform #33 for five different teams in the majors, two of them twice.
Hint:     He attended the same high school as another Hall of Famer.
Twint:    He passed Mickey Mantle’s record of hitting home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game.
A.         Eddie Murray (ROY 1977, Mgr. Earl Weaver; #33 for BAL [2X], LAD [2X], NYM, CLE & ANA; Locke HS near Watts in South L.A. just before Ozzie Smith went there; SH HR [11X], Mantle [10X], both since passed by Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher [12X])
FCR -    Doug Pepper, Tulsa, OK

MONDAY MORESO
Q.         Who was the last pitcher to win fifty games in a season?
Hint:     He was also the last to win 45 games in a season.
Hint:     Dad was his brother.
Twint:    He was, for a time, confined to the Flint Asylum for the Insane.
Twint:    He was later taken to the McLean psychiatric facility in Belmont, MA, where he died.
A.         John Clarkson (53-16 in 1885; 49-19 in 1889; Bro:  Arthur Hamilton “Dad” Clarkson)
FCR -    Steve Van Wagener, Bethesda, MD

TUESDAY
Q.         What Hall of Famer is given credit for turning Babe Ruth into an everyday player?
Hint:     He discovered Fred Clarke when Clarke was a newsboy in Des Moines.
Hint:     He signed Honus Wagner and claimed Wagner was the greatest player of them all.
Hint:     He signed Tony Lazzeri despite Lazzeri’s epilepsy.
Twint:    He presided over the building of the first great New York Yankee dynasty.
A.         Ed Barrow (Red Sox mgr. 1918-20; Signed Wagner to the 1897 Louisville Colonels)
FCR -    Al Blumkin, Brooklyn, NY

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who is the career leader in home runs for second basemen?
Hint:     Hardly anybody remembers him as a Blue Jay.
Hint:     He was traded for a future Cy Young Award winner.
Hint:     He as traded another time for a perennial All-Star, Gold Glove winner and top-10 MVP vote-getter.
Twint:    He was the last 20th century player to collect five hits on Opening Day.
A.         Jeff Kent (351 HR; Played for Toronto 1992; Traded that year for David Cone; Traded 1996 for Matt Williams; 5 H 31‑Mar‑1998)
FCR -    Art Springsteen, Sunapee, NH

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         What Yankee pitcher was (very) recently diagnosed with a bulging disc in his upper neck?
Hint:     When called up to the majors, he chose uniform number 65 because he wanted to wear a number ending in five and every lower number ending in five was taken or retired.
Hint:     His seven scoreless innings virtually ended the Twins’ 2010 season.
Twint:    The Yankees obtained him using the draft pick they were awarded when Andy Pettitte went to the Astros.
A.         Phil Hughes (Disc injury; (Uni # 5‑Joe DiMaggio, 15‑Thurman Munson, 25‑Jason Giambi, 35‑Mike Mussina, 45‑Carl Pavano, 55‑Hideki Matsui; ALDS 09‑Oct‑2010 G3)
FCR -    Robert Pfuhler, Staten Island, NY

THURSDAY
Q.         What former Texas Ranger standout owns and operates a floatation and massage therapy spa?
Hint:     He once hit a foul ball that A’s outfielder Garry Hancock caught and dropped.  However, the umpires ruled that the catch stood, allowing Wayne Tolleson to score from third, giving the former Cornhusker a sacrifice fly, ending the game with the winning run.
Hint:     He twice led American League first basement in assists.
Twint:    When he started three double plays in a game, it tied the major-league record for first basemen.
A.         Pete O’Brien (At Peace; Dropped fly sac 09‑Jun‑1984, played at U of Nebraska; Led AL in assists 1983, 87; 3 DPs 22‑May‑1984)
FCR -    Abbey Garber, Dallas, TX

THURSDAY THENCE
Q.         Who led the National League in singles the first two years the Yankees won pennants?
Hint:     He was a “double unique” for four years until his brother briefly came up to the majors.
Hint:     With a powerful arm, he led the National League three times in assists from left field and twice led in double plays.
Twint:    He and his brother were both Ducks.
A.         Carson Bigbee (161 1b in 1921 and 166 in 1922; Brother Lyle; Assists 1920-22, DPs 1921-22; U. of Oregon)
FCR -    Damian Begley, New York, NY

FRIDAY
Q.         What Pirates pitcher had served in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy in World War I, even though he grew up in Canada?
Hint:     He came back to the minors three years after final major league game and was one of his team’s pitching leaders at 11-10.
Hint:     His brother also (very) briefly played in the majors.
Twint:    His real first and middle names were Ralph Fenton.
Twint:    Dawson led the Pirates with 24 relief appearances in 1928, garnering seven of his eleven career victories.
A.         Joe Dawson (B. Bow, WA, but grew up in British Columbia; 11-10 w/1932 KC Blues; Brother Rex)
FCR -    Bradley Curtis, Roseville, CA

SATURDAY
Q.         Who is the next player in this string?  Nick Esasky, Buddy Bell, Chris Sabo, Tony Fernandez, ______________
Hint:     He played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1988.
Twint:    He is the assistant hitting coach for the Pirates.
A.         Jeff Branson (Reds regular 3rd basemen—he took over in 1995; 1988 Olympic team)
FCR -    Derek Norin, Arlington, VA

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.         Who earned his call up to the Cubs by amassing 216 hits in 157 games for Omaha?
Hint:     The next season was his first full year in the majors and proceeded to lead the league only in times caught stealing and strikeouts.
Hint:     He cut down his strikeouts by almost a third the following year, but still led the league.
Twint:    He played for a university that has since dropped its baseball program.
Twint:    He is their only alumnus ever to reach the majors.
A.         George Grantham (216 for the 1922 Omaha Buffaloes; 28 CS, 92 K for the NL in 1923; 63 K for the NL in 1924; Northern Arizona U.)
FCR -    Damian Begley, New York, NY

SUNDAY
Q.         Who was the first player to hit a home run in his only postseason plate appearance?
Hint:     He had the lowest batting average of any player with at least 1,500 at bats in the 1970s.
Twint:    During the only season in which he had double-digit doubles, he tied a Major League record by hitting four in a game.
A.         Jim Mason (HR in 1976 WS Game 3; .203 [322-for-1,584] in the 70s.; 4 2b 08-Jul-1974)
FCR -    Al Blumkin, Brooklyn, NY

SUNDAY BONUS
Q.         What diminutive lefty is the only player to hit for the cycle against the Brooklyn Superbas?
Hint:     He held the Southern Association hit streak record from 1925 to 1945.
Hint:     He bred show dogs and ran a pool hall after retiring from baseball.
Twint:    He was recently featured on the cover of the Ebbets Field Flannels catalog.
A.         Johnny Bates (Cycle 26-Apr-1907; 46 consecutive games in 1925, broken by Harry Chozen in 1945)
FCR -    Skip Nipper, Nashville, TN

AND FINALLY…
Q.         Who was the last manager of a Washington-based team in the National Association?
Hint:     He won only one of the eight games he managed.
Twint:    His Major League career ended in Boston the next year, with an 0-4 performance at bat.
A.         Bill Parks (1-7 as manager of the 1875 Washington Nationals; 0-4 for the Boston Red Stockings on 22-Apr-1876)
FCR -    Larry Creeden, Boulder City, NV


WEEKLY THEME – Downton Abbey roles

Player          Downton Abbey role
Barrow         Thomas Barrow, Footman, valet
Bates           John Bates, Valet
Bigbee         Charles Carson, Butler
Branson       Thomas Branson, Son-in-law
Clarkson       Richard Clarkson, Family physician
Dawson        Gwen Dawson, Kitchen Maid
Grantham     Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham
Hughes        Elsie Hughes, Housekeeper
Kent             Jimmy Kent, Footman
Mason          Daisy Mason, Kitchen Maid
Murray          George Murray, Lord Grantham’s Lawyer
O’Brien         Sarah O'Brien, Housekeeper
Parks           Ethel Parks, Various professions

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Jeff Bergida, Albany, NY (after the Hughes question)


Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/



No comments:

Post a Comment