Category: Brain Teasers

Trivia: The only two-time Heisman winner played at what school?

Notre Dame
University of Oklahoma
University of Texas
Ohio State University

The correct answer is Ohio State University

So why is this answer correct? : The Heisman Trophy has been awarded every year since 1935, but only one outstanding college football player has managed to win it twice. Ohio State’s Archie Griffin played for the Buckeyes from 1972 to ’75. The running back finished fifth in Heisman voting as a sophomore but went on to win the trophy as both a junior and a senior. In both cases, he won close to 60% of the available voting points. His best season was as a junior, when he ran for 1,695 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. Griffin became the first player to start in four Rose Bowl games, and Ohio State won the Big Ten Championship during all four of his seasons. He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

Trivia: What nickname is written on every NFL football?

The Duke
Mean Joe
Sweetness
Night Train

The correct answer is The Duke

So why is this answer correct? : Tim Mara founded the New York Giants in 1925 and allowed his young son Wellington to take part in the games as a ballboy. The players decided to call him “The Duke,” and the name stuck. Later, when Mara secured a contract with the Wilson company to supply game balls, Chicago Bears coach/owner George Halas suggested they add “The Duke” to the balls in honor of the Maras. This arrangement came to an end when the NFL joined with the AFL in 1970, but when Wellington passed away in 2005, the NFL added “The Duke” back to its footballs as a tribute. These days, many coaches and players refer to the ball itself as just the “duke” — a perfect tribute to a former ballboy.

Trivia: Who holds the record for the oldest professional football player?

Tom Brady
Adam Vinatieri
John Carney
George Blanda

The correct answer is George Blanda

So why is this answer correct? : George Blanda’s professional football career began in 1949 with the Chicago Bears. He played mainly as a quarterback or placekicker, but he was versatile enough to take up the linebacker position when his team needed him. Blanda retired for the first time in 1958 amid disputes with owner and coach George Halas but came out of retirement in 1960 when he joined the Houston Oilers after the formation of the American Football League. In 1970, he became the oldest quarterback to play in a conference title game after replacing Daryle Lamonica due to an injury. Blanda was 48 when he played his last game in 1976 against the Steelers.

Trivia: What is the only NFL team with two winless seasons?

Miami Dolphins
Detroit Lions
Cleveland Browns
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The correct answer is Detroit Lions

So why is this answer correct? : The 2008 Detroit Lions were the first NFL team ever to go 0-16. What makes this winless record even more surprising is the fact that they had wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who ranked fifth in the league for receiving yards that season, on their side. But this wasn’t the Lions’ first brush with ultimate defeat. Back in 1942, the team also failed to win a single game, going 0-11. To be fair, this particular lineup of “toothless Lions,” as they were called, was down some top talent, as 1942 was the first football season played during World War II.

Trivia: Which team is NOT among the top three in games played in NFL history?

Eagles
Cardinals
Bears
Packers

The correct answer is Eagles

So why is this answer correct? : No team has played more games than the Chicago Bears. One of the oldest teams in the NFL, as of August 2022, they’ve played 1,435 games. The next two teams with the most games played are the Green Bay Packers, with 1,401, and the Arizona Cardinals, with 1,395. The Philadelphia Eagles are in seventh place with 1,253 games played.

Trivia: In 1968, NBC cut off the end of a Jets vs. Raiders game to play what film?

The Sound of Music
Heidi
Jailhouse Rock
Carousel

The correct answer is Heidi

So why is this answer correct? : One of the wildest finishes of the 1968 football season happened off-air when a musical about a Swiss girl named Heidi took over the airwaves. The New York Jets took a three-point lead on the then-Oakland Raiders with 1:05 to play, and an NBC executive decided that when they came back from commercials, the network would just start playing “Heidi” at its regularly scheduled time. The Raiders stormed back, scoring twice off-air in the final minute, turning a 32-29 deficit into a 43-32 win, while football fans flooded the phone lines to complain.

Trivia: The first college football game was played between teams from what state?

Alabama
Ohio
Texas
New Jersey

The correct answer is New Jersey

So why is this answer correct? : It may not be the first state you think of when you think about today’s college football landscape, New Jersey hosted the first college game on November 6, 1869, , when Rutgers defeated Princeton (then called the College of New Jersey) in front of about 100 fans in New Brunswick. College football’s first official matchup ended with the bizarre score of 6 to 4, with each scoring play counting for one point.

Trivia: Who was the first player to win the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP?

Johnny Unitas
Marcus Allen
Roger Staubach
Bart Starr

The correct answer is Roger Staubach

So why is this answer correct? : As of 2022, four players have collected both the Heisman Trophy and the Super Bowl MVP, and the very first to do it was Navy and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach. His Heisman came in 1963, and his Super Bowl MVP came nine years later, with four years of military service in between. The other three to complete this particular double are quarterback Jim Plunkett, running back Marcus Allen, and wide receiver/return man Desmond Howard.

Trivia: Who is the only team to play every Thanksgiving since the NFL-AFL merger?

Lions
Cowboys
Bears
Giants

The correct answer is Lions

So why is this answer correct? : The Dallas Cowboys are one of the main staples of turkey day football, missing only 1975 and 1977 since the AFL and NFL joined forces. But the one Thanksgiving constant is the Detroit Lions, who’ve played every year since the merger. In fact, they played on the holiday long before the union, and the last time the Lions took a Thanksgiving off was because of World War II in 1943.

Trivia: What competing league merged with the NFL in the 1960s?

United States Football League
American Football League
All-American Football Division
Canadian Football League

The correct answer is American Football League

So why is this answer correct? : On June 8, 1966, the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) announced that they would merge under the NFL banner. The union also established the Super Bowl between the leagues, which first took place in January 1967. Prior to that, each league held their own individual championships. Ten current teams have AFL roots: the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the New York Jets, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Tennessee Titans.