100 Sports Trivia Questions and Answers
Why would a bowler want a turkey? Can a throw-in score a goal? Pick a sport, make your guess and reveal the answer, from familiar rules to memorable sporting moments.
Sports trivia questions: 10 rounds
Start with the warm-up or choose a sport you follow. Each round has ten questions, with the answers below for anyone hosting a quiz.
Sports trivia warm-up
Foil, épée and sabre are the three weapons used in which sport?#1Show Answer
Fencing
A ten-pin bowler celebrates a turkey. What have they just bowled?#2Show Answer
Three strikes in a row
A boxing result ends with KO. What do those two letters stand for?#3Show Answer
Knockout
One player on an indoor volleyball team wears a different-colored jersey. What is that defensive specialist called?#4Show Answer
The libero
A cricket batter is out without scoring a run. Which bird gives that score its nickname?#5Show Answer
A duck
In curling, what is the name of the circular target the stones slide toward?#6Show Answer
The house
Badminton players hit something that is also called a birdie. What is its formal name?#7Show Answer
A shuttlecock, or shuttle
Which Tour de France rider wears yellow: the overall time leader or the winner of the most stages?#8Show Answer
The overall time leader
The UFC calls its fighting area the Octagon. How many sides does it have?#9Show Answer
Eight
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes make up a Triple Crown in which sport?#10Show Answer
Thoroughbred horse racing
Soccer: goals, rules and greats
A goalkeeper finishes a soccer match with a clean sheet. How many goals did their team concede?#11Show Answer
Zero
One soccer player scores three goals in a match. What is that achievement called?#12Show Answer
A hat-trick
Most of the soccer ball is over the goal line, but a tiny part is still above it. Is that a goal?#13Show Answer
No. The whole ball must cross the whole goal line.
A throw-in flies straight into the opponents' goal without touching anyone. Does the goal count?#14Show Answer
No. The opponents get a goal kick.
Can a soccer player be offside when receiving the ball directly from a teammate's throw-in?#15Show Answer
No. There is no offside offense from a direct throw-in.
Which country hosted and won the first men's FIFA World Cup in 1930?#16Show Answer
Uruguay
Pelé won the men's World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970 with which national team?#17Show Answer
Brazil
A soccer player receives a second yellow card in the same match. Which card follows?#18Show Answer
A red card, and the player is sent off
A penalty taker gently chips the ball down the middle as the goalkeeper dives away. Which Czech player's name describes that style of kick?#19Show Answer
Antonín Panenka, whose chipped penalty decided the Euro 1976 final
In standard 11-a-side soccer, how far is the penalty mark from the goal line?#20Show Answer
12 yards, or 11 meters
Basketball
Basketball's first hoops were baskets meant to hold which fruit?#21Show Answer
Peaches
An NBA player makes a free throw. How many points go on the scoreboard?#22Show Answer
One point
How many minutes are in a regulation NBA quarter?#23Show Answer
12 minutes
An NBA team starts a possession with a full shot clock. How many seconds does it show?#24Show Answer
24 seconds
An NBA defender swats away a shot that is descending above the rim and still has a chance to go in. What violation is that?#25Show Answer
Goaltending
A basketball player finishes with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. What kind of statistical triple have they recorded?#26Show Answer
A triple-double
Which team won six NBA championships with Michael Jordan during the 1990s?#27Show Answer
The Chicago Bulls
Which Los Angeles Sparks star made the first dunk in a WNBA game in 2002?#28Show Answer
Lisa Leslie
Which Los Angeles Lakers legend was nicknamed the Black Mamba?#29Show Answer
Kobe Bryant
An NBA player scores while being fouled and gets one extra free throw. What two-word phrase do fans shout?#30Show Answer
And one
American football
Before the extra point or two-point attempt, how many points is an NFL touchdown worth?#31Show Answer
Six points
An NFL offense faces first-and-10. How many yards must it gain for a new set of downs?#32Show Answer
Ten yards
An NFL kicker sends a field goal between the uprights. How many points is it worth?#33Show Answer
Three points
A quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage while attempting to pass. What is that play called?#34Show Answer
A sack
With time running out, a quarterback launches a long, hopeful pass toward the end zone. What is that last-chance play commonly called?#35Show Answer
A Hail Mary
During a normal NFL play, a ball carrier retreats into their own end zone and is tackled there. What is the two-point score called?#36Show Answer
A safety
An NFL commentator calls a play a pick-six. What did the defender do?#37Show Answer
Intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown
Who won the first Super Bowl, played in January 1967: the Green Bay Packers or the Kansas City Chiefs?#38Show Answer
The Green Bay Packers
The trophy handed to the Super Bowl champions is named after which coach?#39Show Answer
Vince Lombardi
Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl in February 2021 with which team?#40Show Answer
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baseball
A batter homers with the bases loaded. What is that four-run hit called?#41Show Answer
A grand slam
Single, double, triple and home run, all by one batter in one game: what have they hit for?#42Show Answer
The cycle
What is a game-ending hit that puts the home baseball team ahead called?#43Show Answer
A walk-off hit
On a baseball scorecard, which letter records a strikeout?#44Show Answer
K
In MLB, the designated hitter normally bats in place of which defensive player?#45Show Answer
The pitcher
A fly ball hits the foul pole above the outfield fence. Is it fair or foul?#46Show Answer
Fair: it is a home run
During which inning do baseball fans traditionally stand for the stretch?#47Show Answer
The seventh inning
Which jersey number did every MLB team retire in honor of Jackie Robinson?#48Show Answer
42
Which baseball legend was nicknamed the Sultan of Swat?#49Show Answer
Babe Ruth
Which two-way player won the 2021 American League MVP award for the Angels?#50Show Answer
Shohei Ohtani
Tennis and racket sports
In a standard advantage-scoring tennis game, what is the score called when both players have won three points?#51Show Answer
Deuce, or 40-all
A legal tennis serve lands in and the receiver never touches it. What is the serve called?#52Show Answer
An ace
A tennis player faults on both serves for the same point. Who wins the point?#53Show Answer
The receiver. Two service faults make a double fault.
A tennis ball lands on the correct court's boundary line. Is it in or out?#54Show Answer
In. The line counts as part of the court.
Steffi Graf completed a Golden Slam in 1988. What did she win in addition to all four major singles titles?#55Show Answer
Olympic singles gold
The 2017 Australian Open women's singles final was Williams versus Williams. Which sister won?#56Show Answer
Serena Williams, who defeated Venus Williams
Players slide through rallies at Roland Garros. What surface are they playing on?#57Show Answer
Clay
How many feathers are fixed into a regulation feathered badminton shuttle?#58Show Answer
16
A table tennis game reaches 10–10. Can the next point win it?#59Show Answer
No. A player must lead by two points to win.
A squash shot may ricochet off a side wall, but which wall must it reach before hitting the floor?#60Show Answer
The front wall
Olympic moments
At Montreal 1976, the scoreboard showed 1.00 because it could not display her perfect 10. Which gymnast had just made history?#61Show Answer
Nadia Comăneci
How many gold medals did Michael Phelps bring home from Beijing 2008 alone?#62Show Answer
Eight
Which American won the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4×100-meter relay at the Berlin 1936 Olympics?#63Show Answer
Jesse Owens
The Fosbury Flop changed high jumping. Does the jumper clear the bar facing upward or downward?#64Show Answer
Upward, going over back first
Which country did Usain Bolt represent when he sprinted to Olympic gold?#65Show Answer
Jamaica
Which US gymnast won the women's all-around, vault and floor titles at Rio 2016?#66Show Answer
Simone Biles
Despite their name, modern Olympic gold medals are made mostly from which metal?#67Show Answer
Silver, with a coating of gold
Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila won the Rome 1960 marathon without which piece of running equipment?#68Show Answer
Shoes. He ran barefoot.
Put an Olympic triathlon in order: cycling, running and swimming.#69Show Answer
Swimming, then cycling, then running
An individual medley uses four swimming strokes. Which stroke comes first?#70Show Answer
Butterfly
Golf, darts and precision
A golfer needs four strokes on a par-five hole. Which bird is on the scorecard?#71Show Answer
A birdie: one stroke under par
In golf, an albatross is rarer than an eagle. How far under par is it on one hole?#72Show Answer
Three strokes under par, also called a double eagle
Under the standard Rules of Golf, what is the maximum number of clubs a player may carry for play?#73Show Answer
14
Winning which golf major earns a player a green jacket?#74Show Answer
The Masters
Which golf major awards the Claret Jug?#75Show Answer
The Open Championship, also known as the British Open
The Ryder Cup pits the United States against a team representing which continent?#76Show Answer
Europe
What is the highest score possible with three darts on a standard dartboard?#77Show Answer
180: three treble 20s
On a standard dartboard, which scores more with one dart: the inner bullseye or treble 20?#78Show Answer
Treble 20 scores 60; the inner bullseye scores 50.
Which colored snooker ball is worth seven points when legally potted?#79Show Answer
Black
On an Olympic archery target, what color is the highest-scoring central area?#80Show Answer
Gold, or yellow
Ice, snow and water
A hockey team has a power play. Is it playing with more or fewer skaters than its penalized opponent?#81Show Answer
More skaters
A standard ice hockey puck is made from what material?#82Show Answer
Vulcanized rubber
Which trophy do NHL playoff champions lift?#83Show Answer
The Stanley Cup
Curling stones look heavy because they are. What kind of rock are they made from?#84Show Answer
Granite
Winter Olympic biathletes ski with a rifle on their backs. Which two activities make up their sport?#85Show Answer
Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting
Which sled event sends athletes down the track lying face down and head first: luge or skeleton?#86Show Answer
Skeleton
A curling team has the hammer. What advantage does that give it in an end?#87Show Answer
It delivers the last stone.
How high above the water is the platform in the Olympic individual platform diving event?#88Show Answer
10 meters
Including the goalkeeper, how many players does a full water polo team have in the water at once?#89Show Answer
Seven
Which swimming stroke uses the whip kick that learners often call a frog kick?#90Show Answer
Breaststroke
The mixed-sport decider
The Ashes urn symbolizes a cricket rivalry between which two countries?#91Show Answer
England and Australia
In standard international cricket, how many legal deliveries make an over?#92Show Answer
Six. Wides and no-balls do not count toward those six.
In rugby union, how many points is a try worth before any conversion?#93Show Answer
Five points
A rugby union player can kick the ball forward. Can they deliberately throw it forward to a teammate?#94Show Answer
No. A forward pass is not allowed.
Which flag tells an F1 driver that the race has finished?#95Show Answer
The black-and-white chequered flag
A tunnel, Casino Square and a famously tight hairpin feature on which Formula 1 street circuit?#96Show Answer
Monaco
What drink traditionally greets the Indianapolis 500 winner in Victory Circle?#97Show Answer
Milk
Which Formula 1 team has a prancing horse on its badge?#98Show Answer
Ferrari
The Tour de France's polka-dot jersey rewards the leader of which competition?#99Show Answer
The mountains classification, often called the best climber competition
Sumo wrestlers compete inside a circular ring. What is that ring called?#100Show Answer
A dohyō, also written dohyo
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