Baseball Trivia: Outreach at Nationals Park, 2024 Edition

This post contains trivia questions researched by 2023 Library of Congress Internship (LOCI) program participant Katrina Limson, a recent graduate of the MLIS program at San Jose State University.

Did you know that the Library of Congress is a partner of Family Fundays on Sundays at Nationals Park? For the third summer in a row, the Informal Learning Office at the Library of Congress is part of the Nationals’ Story Time program. We participated in the programs in April and July, and will make our final appearance when the Nats face the Cubs on Sunday, September 1, 2024. Story Time is one of a few activities the Library be doing in partnership with the Nationals this summer. In celebration of the Book Festival, LOC Night at the Nationals will take place on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 6:45 p.m., where the Library will be incorporated in events throughout the evening from the first pitch to the Presidents Race.

If the young people in your life live locally, we invite you join us in-person on Sunday, September 1. Anyone with a ticket for the day’s Nationals game can attend Story Time in the Kennedy Conference Room at the park. The festivities begin at 12:15 p.m. with the Left Field Gate opening early at 12:00 p.m. for attendees. At Story Time, community partners present activities and a player reads a book. After the Story Time event ends, you can visit the Library of Congress’ Baseball Americana exhibit on the concourse behind home plate.

Drawing on our deep collections of baseball-related materials, the Informal Learning Office has developed a fun baseball trivia game that we present during the program. Did you miss us in July and April? Try out the questions with your family below to test your knowledge! Scroll down past each accompanying photograph for the answer and additional Library collections.

Question One: Which D.C. university was the first to have a collegiate baseball program?

A. George Washington University

B. American University

C. Howard University

D. Georgetown University

Several boys in suits stand around two men holding a baseball bat. — Baseball Season at the Capitol, Featuring Senator Pat Harrison, Senator George Pepper, Senator Samuel Ralston, and Senator Royal Copeland as well as several Senate pages. (Harris & Ewing Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, 1924).

Answer: D. Georgetown University

After four years of playing with no official team, Georgetown University started the first collegiate baseball program in Washington D.C. in 1870.

Question Two: Don Larsen is the only pitcher to throw a no hitter in a World Series Game. What team did he play for?

A. The Boston Red Sox

B. The New York Yankees

C. The St. Louis Cardinals

D. The Philadelphia Phillies

View of players on a baseball stadium from the top of the stands. Many people in the stands are wearing hats. — Baseball game at Griffith Stadium in 1933. View of people and diamond during game (Theodor Horydczak Collection, Prints and Photographs Division).

Answer: B. The New York Yankees

There has only ever been one perfect game in World Series history. It was thrown by Don Larsen for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956. Below is a picture of him celebrating with his teammate Yogi Berra after the game.

Two baseball players in pinstripe uniforms hugging in a victory celebration. — Catcher Yogi Berra embraces Don Larsen after Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series in 1956. (Prints and Photographs Division).

Question Three: Baseball cards used to be sold with bubblegum. True or False?

Three images side by side on the side of a cigarette box. On the left, a drawing on a player surrounded by baseball bats and balls and gloves, in the center a black-and-white photographer player standing over another player who is sliding into base, and on the right a drawing of a player's face surrounded by balls, bats, and mitts. — Baseball card portrait of George Moriarty and Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, 1912. (Baseball Cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards Collection, Prints and Photographs Division).

Answer: True

By the 1930s, gum companies began packing baseball cards in with their gum, as collections from the Library of Congress show. One company tried to sell baseball cards with taffy, but the candy ended up ruining the cards. Baseball cards in gum packs were popular all the way until the 1990s.

Question Four: What year was the “Nationals” name first used for Washington’s baseball team?

A. 1859

B. 1901

C. 1967

D. 2005

A row of players in the baseball dugout wearing white uniforms. One player is standing slightly in front next to a man in a suit and hat. — Stanley Harris & Clark Griffith, October 4 1924. (National Photo Company Collection, Prints and Photographs Division)

Answer: A. 1859

The modern incarnation of the Nationals as Washington D.C.’s professional ball team began playing during the 2005 Major League Baseball season. But the name “Nationals” has been used by many Washington D.C.-based baseball squads, including a team of government clerks who started an after-work game in 1859. The Senators franchise that played in Washington D.C from 1901-1960 also used the name “Nationals” as an additional name at various points in the franchise’s history.

Question Five: Joe DiMaggio has the longest hitting streak in MLB history. How many games did he play in a row without missing the ball?

A. 17

B. 56

C. 33

D. 72

A black and white photo of a man in a suit kissing a baseball bat wit hteh words "Joe Di Maggio Salutes His Bat" copyright 1941... the Sporting News Pub, Co written on the bottom of the photograph. — Joe DiMaggio Salutes His Bat, 1941. (Prints and Photographs Division)

Answer: B. 56

In 1941, Joe DiMaggio set the all time record for at least one base hit 56 games in a row. The next longest streak is 44 games, tied between Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds) and Willie Keeler (Baltimore Orioles). As this newspaper suggests, DiMaggio may have felt some mixed emotions at the end of his streak.

A newspaper featuring the headlines "Two Ordinary Tribe Pitchers End Streak at 56" and the headline "Glad It's Over, Now I can Hit" with a black-and-white photograph of a baseball player in a New York jersey. — “Night Lights Help to Stop DiMaggio,” Detroit Evening Times. Detroit, MI, July 18, 1941 via Chronicling America, The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.

Want more baseball trivia? If you’re nearby, be sure to head to the Nationals’ website for more information about joining us on Sunday, September 1, 2024. And if you’re far away, check out posts with last year’s trivia questions.

Add a Comment Cancel reply