WBEZ brought retired schoolteacher John Schmidt on as blogger because of his vast internal database of Chicago history. In the last few months, Eight Forty-Eight has discovered he’s also a crack quiz writer. For the Illinois primary, we asked him to write up some local election trivia. Fun - and various quiz sound effects - ensued.

For today’s show, he put together a quiz about one of his other great passions: baseball. The theme, appropriately, is the Cubs and White Sox.

We’ll publish the quizzes after the show. For those of you tuning in live, call 312.923.9239.

CUBS QUIZ

1. Which of these incidents helped the Cubs win their last World Series?

(A) The Merkle Boner

(B) The Homer in the Gloamin’

(C) The Shot Heard ‘Round the World

(D) The Strange Death of Big Ed Delahanty

2. Wrigley Field was originally built for the Chicago team in the Federal League. What was the nickname of that team?

(A) Blue Sox

(B) Whales

(C) Sharks

(D) Fighting Bohemians

3.  The only Chicago player to hit four home runs in one game is __________.

(A) Dave Kingman

(B) Lou Novikoff

(C) Pat Seerey

(D) Ernie Banks

4. Which of these players did NOT play for both the Cubs and Sox?

(A) Jim Brosnan

(B) Sammy Sosa

(C) Ron Santo

(D) Andre Dawson

SOX QUIZ

1. Which three teams did the Sox defeat in the 2005 post-season?

(A) Yankees–Angels–Braves

(B) Yankees–Royals–Mets

(C) Tigers–A’s–Astros 

(D) Red Sox–Angels–Astros

2.  Why did Sox player Monty Stratton suddenly leave baseball?

(A) He won a fortune in the Irish Sweepstakes and quit.

(B) He lost a leg in a hunting accident.

(C) He entered a monastery.

(D) He was discovered to be Shoeless Joe Jackson in disguise. 

3. Why did Sox pitcher Billy Pierce play first base during a 1953 game?

(A) All of the regular first basemen were either injured or ejected from the game.

(B) He played first base temporarily, so a right-hander could pitch for a while.

(C) He wanted to become an everyday player and home run hitter, like Babe Ruth.

(D) It was one of Bill Veeck’s stunts. 

4. What year did the Sox and Cubs play against each other in the World Series?

(A) 1897

(B) 1906

(C) 1917

(D) The Sox and Cubs have never played against each other in the World Series.

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Answers: a b c d d b b b

(A) The Merkle Boner. In 1908, Fred Merkle of the Giants failed to touch second base in a late-season game against the Cubs. Instead of the Giants winning the game, the game ended in a tie. The Cubs finished one game ahead of the Giants to become the season’s National League champions. The Cubs then went on to beat Detroit in the World Series.

(B) Whales. The Federal League was a 1914 attempt to start a third major league. The Chicago Whales built the ballpark at Clark and Addison and named it Weegham Field, after the team owner. When the Federal League folded, the Cubs bought the ballpark, and it later was renamed Wrigley Field.

(C) Pat Seerey. A journeyman Sox outfielder, he hit his four homers in a 10-inning game against the Philadelphia A’s on July 18th, 1948. At the time, Seerey was only the fifth major league player to hit four home runs in a single game.   

4 (D) Andre Dawson (Cubs only, 1987-1992). Dawson joined the Cubs as a batting powerhouse after a decade with the Montreal Expos. He went on to become the first-ever player to win MVP on a last-place team.

(D) Red Sox–Angels–Astros. White Sox beat Boston Red Sox in the A.L. Division series, sweeping all three games.  Next, the White Sox defeated the Angels in the A.L. Championship series, 4 games-to-1. Then, in the World Series, the White Sox swept the Astros in four straight games.

(B) He lost a leg in a hunting accident. His leg was amputated in 1938…the day after his pistol accidentally fired while he was hunting rabbit in Texas. During a Sox-hosted cross town classic to raise money for Stratton, the player made a famous attempt to pitch with his artificial leg. The move won hearts and minds, if not the game. His story was later retold in the 1949 movie The Stratton Story, starring James Stewart.

(B) He played first base temporarily, so a right-hander could pitch for a while.  Pierce was a left-hander. On June 25, 1953 Pierce was pitching against the Yankees.  Late in the game, the Sox manager decided to bring in a right-handed pitcher, but sent Pierce to first base so that Pierce could remain in the game. After the right-hander faced two batters, Pierce returned to pitching and won the game.  

(B) 1906. The Cubs set a N.L. record that still stands, winning 116 games in the regular season.  They were heavily favored over the Sox, called the Hitless Wonders because the team won the AL pennant with a .228 team batting average. But the Sox won the World Series, 4 games-to-2.