Look, I understand my job each week in my quizzes is to educate, illuminate and entertain you (and occasionally frustrate you as you attempt to go 9-for-9). I’m definitely not here to bring you down, even in a memorial for those we lost in 2022. I look at it more as a celebration of their lives and hopefully give you something to further remember these folks with a smile.
There were many great people involved with sports whom we lost in 2022, who will not be in this quiz but should never be forgotten. Two get a special mention because they were impactful in play and their presence had an impact that was felt around the world: Bill Russell and Pelé. They meant so much to their sports and to those of us who were in awe of their talents.
So smile. Think about the wisdom in this quote: “I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Now, have fun and learn a lot.
1. In his 18-year career, this ballplayer was a three-time All-Star and a two-time batting champ, leading the National League with a .346 batting average in 1962 and a .326 mark in 1963. He starred for the Dodgers, but also played for the White Sox, Cubs, Mets, Seattle Pilots, Astros, Athletics, Orioles, Angels and Royals.
a. Tommy Davis
b. Ray Guy
c. Pete Ward
d. Bob Lanier
2. Who was the Canadian who played for the White Sox, Orioles and Yankees from 1962 to 1970? He hit 23 home runs for the White Sox in 1963 to go with a .282 batting average.
a. Hugh McElhenny
b. Ray Guy
c. Pete Ward
d. Bob Lanier
3. This guy pitched for the Cubs, Phillies, Red Sox, Cleveland and the Brewers. He had a 115-137 record and 3.72 ERA. He won 22 games for the Cubs in 1963 and was an All-Star in 1964.
a. Mike Bossy
b. Dick Ellsworth
c. Joe Horlen
d. Vic Roznovsky
4. This man was an All-Star pitcher for the White Sox in 1967, when he won 19 games and led the American League with a 2.06 ERA and six shutouts. He also no-hit the Tigers on Sept. 10, 1967. His first uniform number was blank.
a. Bill Fitch
b. Joe Horlen
c. Eric Nesterenko
d. Gale Wade
5. He had the middle name of Morning and a son named Bump and was one of the great thieves in baseball history, leading the NL in stolen bases for six successive seasons. He stole six bases against the White Sox in the 1959 World Series.
a. Julio Cruz
b. Maury Wills
c. Chuck Carr
d. George Santos
6. This pitcher had 265 losses, the sixth-most all-time. And yet, he was a Hall of Famer. He allowed 399 homers in his career, the 14th-most all-time. And yet, he was a Hall of Famer. Who was this slippery fellow?
a. Ike Delock
b. Tom Browning
c. Gaylord Perry
d. Ralph Terry
7. This man never played an inning of major-league baseball, but he could describe the game as well as anyone — ever. “Erudite” is a mild way of describing his skills. It was written that “his enthusiasm for baseball was so immense that it could not be confined to a singular loyalty.” He wasn’t just born in New York; he truly was The New Yorker.
a. Roger Angell
b. Vin Scully
c. Jerome Holtzman
d. E.B. White
8. This man never played an inning of major-league baseball, but he could describe the game as well as anyone — ever. “Erudite” is a mild way of describing his skills. Sandy Koufax said, “It may sound corny, but I enjoyed listening to him call a game almost more than playing in them.”
a. Roger Angell
b. Vin Scully
c. Harry Caray
d. Don Drysdale
9. I always like to end with a walk-off or a closer, if I can. And this man was one of the greatest closers of the 1970s and ’80s. He saved 300 games for the Cubs (1976-1980), Cardinals (1981-84) and Braves (1985-86, 1988).
a. Bruce Sutter
b. Joe Horlen
c. Bob Locker
d. Glen Ross
These are just a few of the greats we lost this past year. Always remember, if you don’t laugh at life, you’ll never get out alive. Be safe and healthy. See you next week.
ANSWERS
1. Tommy Davis was a two-time NL batting champion and three-time World Series winner with the Dodgers who still holds the team record for RBI in a season with 153 in 1962. Ray Guy passed away in 2022 and was the only punter elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2. White Sox manager Al Lopez said of Pete Ward, “I’d make him a catcher, but we’d never get the game over with. He’d use up the whole night gossiping with the hitters and umpires.” Bob Lanier was a Hall of Fame center who starred for the Pistons and Bucks. He was famous for his enormous shoes (allegedly a size 22). Hugh McElhenny was an NFL running back with the 49ers in the 1950s.
3. Three days after graduating from high school, pitching at Wrigley, Dick Ellsworth tossed a four-hit shutout against the White Sox in the annual charity event between the teams. Mike Bossy was a Hockey Hall of Fame right wing who helped the Islanders win four Stanley Cups in the 1980s. Vic Roznovsky caught 71 games for the Cubs in 1965.
4. Joe Horlen played for the White Sox from 1961 to 1971. He was born “Joel” but somehow became known as “Joe” while in the majors. In his first MLB game, on Sept. 5, 1961, he didn’t have a number on the back of his uniform. Eric Nesterenko was an NHL right wing who played 16 of his 21 seasons with the Blackhawks, winning a Stanley Cup with them in 1961. Wade played in 18 games as a center fielder and pinch-hitter for the Cubs in 1955 and 1956.
5. Maury Wills stole 50 bases in 1960, his first full year in the majors. In 1962, Wills set the major-league record with 104 stolen bases and was the NL MVP. That season, he was caught only 14 times, an 89% success rate.
6. HOF righty Gaylord Perry won Cy Young Awards in both leagues (Cleveland and San Diego) and was famous (infamous?) for tossing a spitball. Ron Santo said of Perry, “The last time I faced him, every pitch Perry threw to me was a spitter.” Santo’s teammate Randy Hundley, who had been Perry’s catcher on the Giants, denied that every pitch was a spitball. “Only 90% of Perry’s pitches are spitters,” he said. In 22 seasons, Perry went 314-265 with a 3.11 ERA. He struck out 3,534.
7. Roger Angell was an elegant essayist for The New Yorker magazine. He was the only writer elected to both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Angell was the stepson of another great essayist, E.B. White.
8. Vin Scully was the greatest announcer baseball has ever known. But in addition, he hosted “It Takes Two,” a game show that featured celebrity couples answering questions such as “How old was the oldest dog?” Yes, he, too, was a quizmaster, the only thing we had in common.
9. The great Bruce Sutter led the NL in saves five times, thanks to his split-fingered fastball. Sutter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. Remembrances also to Bob Locker, who passed away last year. Locker pitched for the Sox and Cubs and appeared in 576 major-league games in his 10-year career, all as a reliever. Glen Ross is my homage to Blake, who in the movie “Glengarry Glen Ross” famously said, “A-B-C. A-always, B-be, C-closing.”
