Baseball Trivia: Summer Reading Part 3 | Minerva’s Kaleidoscope

This post was written by Katie McCarthy, an Educational Programs Specialist in the Informal Learning Office. The trivia questions in this post were created by Library of Congress Internship (LOCI) program spring 2023 participant Katrina Limson, a MLIS student at San Jose State University.

As the summer winds down, there are only a few pitches left at Nationals Park! But despite the approaching end of the season, we have another chance for you to test your baseball trivia as part of our partnership with the “team that reads.” Before the afternoon game on August 18^th , Informal Learning Office educators participated in a third Story Time with the team’s Summer Reading Ambassador. Quiz your family with these trivia questions from the program, below. Scroll past each photograph for the answer.

An aerial view of a city an a stadium — Nationals Park, baseball stadium. 2008. (Carol M. Highsmith Collection/Library of Congress)

Question #1: What year was the first official baseball guide book published?

1784
1868
1903
1965

A lithograph-style drawing of a team playing baseball in an overgrown field with the diamond outline cleared. Spectators are watching. — The American national game of base ball. Grand match for the championship at the Elysian Fields, Hoboken, N.J. / lith. of Currier & Ives. Ca. 1866. (Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress).

Answer: B. 1868

A book called Haney’s Base Ball Book of Reference was published in 1868. It was the first to book to feature the “official” rules of the game. The book included the first advertisements for baseball apparel, and even a section on how to play the game on ice!

A photograph of an open book. One page is green, an advertisement for the New York City Baseball Emporium, and Manufactoring Company — Haney’s Base Ball Book of Reference. 1868. (Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress)

Question #2: How much were tickets for the first MLB World Series game in 1903?

$0.50
$1.75
$2.00
$5.00

A bird's eye view black and white of baseball players sitting against a fence. — Washington, D.C. Players and spectators in a baseball game at the Ellipse. 1942. (Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress).

Answer: A. $0.50

The MLB’s first World Series was played between the Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Boston team emerging victorious. The Boston Americans only charged $0.50 for their home games.

A black-and-white panoramic photograph of a baseball field. — Boston, American League base ball grounds, players and bleachers. Ca. 1903. (Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress).

Question #3: The first championship between the American League and the National League was a World Series Game.

True or False?

A man in a suit throws a baseball from arena stands in front of an American flag bunting. — Warren Harding throwing baseball at Washington game. Between 1921 and 1923. (Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress).

Answer: False.

In 1884, the winners of the National League (the Providence Greys from Rhode Island) and the American Association (New York Metropolitans) met in the first inter-league championship game. This predated the establishment of the Major League Baseball World Series in 1903.

A group of men wearing suits and fedora hats leaning against each other as they sleep in front of a big, black door. — Waiting in line for tickets for the opening game of the World Series. Picture snapped at 10 P.M. tonight October 3rd, twenty four hours before the tickets will be placed on sale. Oct. 3 1924. (Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress).

Question #4: What year were lights first used at a Major League Baseball night game?

1903
1920
1935
1947

A black-and-white photograph of a baseball stadium with bright lights in the background of the photograph. — Cleveland Municipal Stadium during Cleveland-Detroit night baseball game. Ca. 1950. (Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress).

On the evening of May, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt symbolically flipped a switch at the White House. At the same time, the lights came on at Ohio’s Crosley Field, home of the Cincinnati Reds. Since then, baseball games at night have been lit with lights—even during World War II, as this post from last year attests to.

A baseball stadium full of fans. A man in the front waves his hat in front of a flag with a bald eagle and the seal of the U.S. Presidency on it. — Franklin D. Roosevelt at baseball game, the World Series game, Washington, D.C. 1933. (Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress).

We hope you enjoyed playing trivia along with your family. Be sure you are subscribed to Minerva’s Kaleidoscope so you don’t miss any upcoming family fun, including the upcoming final installment of this trivia series!

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