Fun sports trivia questions and answers.

What was sports great Jesse Owens's real given name?
A: James Cleveland. He was known by his initials, J.C., until he was nine, when a teacher mistakenly called him Jesse--and a new nickname was born.

What is the name of the cookbook that Boston Red Sox third baseman Wade Bogs co-authored with his wife, Debbie, in 1984?
A: "Fowl Tips." It's a chicken cookbook. Boggs says he eats chicken every day.

In golf, what is an albatross?
A: Three under par--which also is now as a double eagle.

What were the first American and National League baseball teams to draw over one million fans in a season?
A: For the American League, the new York Yankees--1,289,422 in 1920; for the National League, the Chicago Cubs--1,159,168 in 1927.

How many hits did the "Yankee Clipper," Joe DiMaggio, get during his 56-game batting streak in 1941?
A: He got 91 hits, knocked in 55 runs and reached home himself 56 times. Of his 91 hits, 56 were singles, 16 were doubles, 4 were triples an d15 were homers.

In the earliest days of baseball, how many balls were required for a batter to draw a walk?
A: Nine. The number was reduced little by little until 1889, when it became four.

In bowling alley slang, what's a turkey?
A: Three strikes in a row. The term dates back to the late 1800s when bowling alley owners presented live turkeys around Thanksgiving and Christmas to the first member of a team to score three consecutive strikes.

When you hit a tennis ball, how much time does it spend in contact with your tennis racket?
A: 4/1,000 second.

What was the game of softball originally called when its rules were written down in Minneapolis in 1895?
A: Kitten ball. It became known as softball in 1926.

What sports hall of fame is located in Ishpeming, Michigan?
A: Skiing.

What was unusual about Stanley Steamer, a five-year-old gelding that lost its one-and-only harness race at Florida's Pompano Spark in 1974?
A: It was a Zebra.

What baseball great frowned on exercise, saying, "I believe in training by rising gently up and down from the bench"?
A: Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige.

Who was known as La Tulipe Noire in France, Il Re in Italy, O Vasilas in Greece and El Peligor in Chile?
A: Brazilian soccer great Pele--who was born Edson Arantes de Nascimento.

How tall was 7-fooot-2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at birth?
A: Just a bit taller than the average newborn at 22-1/2 inches, but he weighed a hefty 12 pounds 11 ounces.

What was the World Series batting average of Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the eight Chicago White Sox players convicted of accepting bribes to throw the 1919 world championship to the Cincinnati Reds?
A: He had the highest average in the series, .375, as well as a perfect fielding record.

What professional sport did Dave DeBusschere play before he decided to devote full attention to his basketball career in 1964?
A: Baseball. He pitched for the Chicago White Sox for two seasons, earning a 3-4 record and a 2.90 ERA in 36 games.

Together, baseball-playing brothers Hank and Tommy Aaron hit 768 home runs. How many were Tommy's?
A: Thirteen.