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About This Quiz
Let's face it, most of us love our sport. You wouldn't be attempting this quiz if you didn't, right? But picking memorable sports moments from the past 120 years is not an easy task. There simply have been so many that narrowing it down to 40 is always going to be very subjective. What we might think is a memorable sports moment might not be that memorable for you and vice versa!
However, there are moments where we can all agree they were certainly memorable. We might not have been there, but the legends behind the story still remain giants in our eyes. Take the story of Babe Ruth pointing to the bleachers and telling the crowd where he would hit the next ball. Or Cassius Clay becoming the world heavyweight boxing champion for the first time. And what about Usain Bolt announcing himself to the world with the 100m and 200m sprint double, in world-record time, at the Olympics? Yes, we remember these great moments, but to excel in this quiz, you are going to also have to remember the year in which they happened. Do you think you can do that? Well, let's test that sporting knowledge of yours!
1911
1923
1945
By signing an MLB contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945, Jackie Robinson smashed through the color barrier by becoming the first African American to do so. Robinson still had to overcome many trials, but he was truly a trailblazer!
2000
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1988
1954
With the help of pacemakers Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in windy conditions on May 6, 1954. In fact, the wind was so bad, Bannister was going to call off his attempt. He persevered, however, stopping the clock in 3:59.40 seconds.
2001
1900
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1972
Mark Spitz's incredible feat is often forgotten behind the attacks on the Israeli team at the 1972 Olympics in Munich in which 11 athletes died. Spitz not only won seven gold medals but set seven world records as well.
1996
2000
2004
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1973
In 1973 Bobby Riggs, a former world number-one tennis player, brashly declared that he could beat any female tennis player on the circuit. He couldn't. In an exhibition match, Billy Jean King beat in in three sets, taking home $100,000 in the process.
1980
2000
1955
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1973
By winning the Triple Crown in 1973, Secretariat became the first horse in 25 to achieve the feat. In the last race of the series, Secretariat won by a massive 31 lengths in a world-record time that still stands today.
1981
2000
1965
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1974
Hank Aaron was the man to break Babe Ruth's long-standing home-run record. He did so on April 8, 1974. Aaron's record was in turn broken by Barry Bonds a few decades later.
1990
2001
1923
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1979
1976
Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci stunned the world in at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal when she scored a perfect 10 on the uneven bars. She went onto win three gold medals at just 14 years of age.
1980
1968
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1976
With the finals tied at 2-2, the winner of the final match of the NBA finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics would take home the glory. The game needed three overtime periods to finally separate the teams, with Boston eventually winning 128-126.
1991
2017
1950
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1980
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe served up some really epic tennis matches—none more so than their five-set battle at Wimbledon in 1980. Borg won, giving him his five titles in a row.
1990
1976
1971
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1951
1949
1966
1939
Suffering with a disease that would later bear his name, Lou Gehrig—or "Iron Horse" to baseball fans—played the last of his 2,130 consecutive games for the New York Yankees. Sadly, the disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, meant he had to retire. He died just two years later.
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2010
1970
1930
Bobby Jones won the British Amateur, British Open, U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open, the majors at the time, in 1930—a feat never achieved again.
1955
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1981
1988
1952
1974
Described as one of the greatest boxing matches in history, the "Rumble in the Jungle" saw Muhammad Ali reclaim his world heavyweight crown from George Foreman. The fight was held in Zaire.
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1995
2002
2000
1998
On September 27, 1998, Mark McGwire became the first ever man to hit 70 homers in a baseball season. McGwire achieved the feat playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he went on to smash 583 home runs in his career.
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1955
1962
Only just over 4,000 people saw Wilt Chamberlain throw the first—and to date, only—100-point game in the NBA. Chamberlain, playing for the New York Nicks, achieved the feat against the Philadelphia Warriors.
1931
1977
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1956
Don Larsen's feat came in Game 5 of the World Series. His efforts saw the Yankees win 2-0.The Yankees went on to win the World Series.
1944
1951
1981
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1960
1968
The crowd watching the track and field events at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico were stunned into silence when Bob Beamon smashed the long-jump record by an incredible two feet. Undoubtedly, his effort is one of the greatest athletic achievements ever.
1930
2000
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1964
Sonny Liston had been the champion since 1962, but on February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay decimated him, with Liston forced to throw in the towel after six rounds. Clay had opened cuts on Liston's face, and a shoulder injury further complicated matters.
1973
1955
1951
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1944
1940
1932
1936
Oh and how he did it! Jessie owns won four golds in front of Adolf Hitler and broke three world and one Olympic records. Owens won gold in the 100m, 200m, Long Jump and 4x100m relay.
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1940
1944
1931
1938
In a massive blow to Hitler's supposed Aryan superiority, Joe Louis obliterated the German Max Schmeling on June 22, 1938. In that time, he put the German on the canvas three times.
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2000
2004
2008
1992
A team filled with NBA superstars including the like of Magic Johnson, the "Dream Team" dominated basketball at the 1992 Olympics. In fact, they beat each of their opponents by more than 30 points.
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1966
1958
The matchup between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants saw the Colts run out winners in sudden death and was the first NFL championship game to go into overtime.
2000
2011
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1965
1968
In 1968, Arthur Ashe wrote his name into tennis history by becoming the first player of color to win the U.S. Open, as well as the first to win a open-era tournament.
1971
1981
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1994
1986
Diego Maradona was at the peak of his powers during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Representing Argentina, he managed to score a goal using his hand while trying to head a ball into the net against England. The English players protested, but the goal stood. A few minute later, Maradona sealed the match with a goal which he dribbled past a number of English players to slot home.
2000
2004
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1982
1990
Buster Douglas was a 47-1 outside the the heavyweight title fight against Mike Tyson on February 11, 1990. But he dominated Tyson, before sending him to the canvas. Douglas lost the title the next year to Evander Holyfield.
1992
2007
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1996
Many remember that iconic moment when Muhammad Ali, a hero to millions but now ravaged by Parkinson's, lit the Olympic flame at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Ali was also given a medal to replace the one he won in 1960 but tossed into a river due to the the frustration that he was ordered out of a restaurant which served white people only.
1992
2000
2004
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1938
1974
1968
1958
Though he was only a teenager, the soccer world soon knew who Pele was thanks to his exploits at the 1958 Soccer World Cup. At just 17 years old, Pele helped Brazil to win the tournament by scoring six goals.
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2007
1991
1987
Although rugby internationals had been played since the early 1900s, the first Rugby World Cup only arrived in 1987. It was won by New Zealand, although possibly the strongest rugby nation at the time, South Africa, was in international isolation due to apartheid.
1965
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2010
2015
Incredibly, Carli Lloyd achieved her amazing feat in the first 16 minutes of the game with her hat-trick goal an incredible long-range effort from almost the half-way line. The U.S. went on to win 5-2 and claim the World Cup.
2002
1999
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2000
1975
Cricket as a sport had been played internationally since the late 1800s. The first Wold Cup for the sport only took place in 1975, however. It was won by the West Indies, who defeated Australia in the final.
2010
2008
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1981
After losing to Bjorn Borg in the 1980s, John McEnroe finally got one over his great rival, winning the 1981 Wimbledon final in four sets: 4–6, 7–6 (7–1), 7–6 (7–4), 6–4.
1984
2000
1977
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1980
1972
1992
1986
Jack Nicklaus is perhaps the greatest golfer ever; if measured by Majors, then he surely is. Nicklaus' last Major came at the age of 46 at the U.S. Master, taking his overall tally to 18.
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2001
1999
1995
Cal Ripken Jr. spent his 20-year baseball career only playing for the Baltimore Orioles between 1991 and 2001. His record of consecutive games was set at 2,632, an amount that will probably never be broken. Ripken Jr. also received pretty much every accolade in baseball.
1989
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1932
In the fifth inning of the third game of the 1932 World Series, Babe Ruth pointed to the stands beyond center field. The very next ball, he sent the ball sailing into the bleachers in that region, and the legend of the Ruth "called shot" was born!
1919
1950
1921
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1980
One of the greatest upsets in any sport ever, the United States ice hockey team beat the Soviet juggernaut 4-3 at the 1980 Olympics. Just a few weeks before, the Soviets had beaten the United States 10-3, making the result even more remarkable. The United States went on to win gold.
1972
1984
1966
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1991
1987
1995
As told by the Hollywood movie "Invictus," Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected leader of South Africa, used sport to help reconcile the nation. He was on hand to inspire the South African rugby side to victory over their more fancied rivals, New Zealand, in 1995.
2015
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1988
1952
1948
Australia's Don Bradman is the greatest cricket player of all time, of that there is no doubt. And he would have finished his career with a batting average of 100 if he could score 4 runs in his final innings. It seemed a foregone conclusion, but England's Eric Hollies had other ideas, and he bowled Bradman for a duck.
1900
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1998
Perhaps it was written in the stars that France would win the first World Cup held in the country. A golden generation of footballers saw them to victory over Brazil, certainly their more fancied rivals.
2018
2004
1972
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2012
2008
It was at the 2008 Beijing Olympics that Usain Bolt showed he was the fastest man in the world. Bolt won both the 100m and 200m titles, and in world-record times, making him the first man to ever do so.
2004
2000
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2001
1999
1989
On October 15, 1989, Wayne Gretzky became the all-time leading NHL scorer with 1,850 points, beating the previous record of Gordie Howe. He ended his career with 2,857 points and 1,963 assists.
1978
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2001
1994
1997
Not only did he become the youngest Master champion at just 21, he obliterated the field in doing so. Tiger Woods won by an incredible 12 shots. It was only his 15th tournament as a pro!
2004
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You Got:
/40
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