On-Air Now
On-Air Now
Listen Live

Famous Firsts

By Lance Tominaga, ESPN Honolulu Web Editor.

Happy Tuesday! Ready for a friendly Pop Quiz? Today, we look at some famous “firsts” in the sports universe. For example, Roger Bannister will forever be known as the first person to run a sub-four minute mile (he ran a 3:59.4 in 1954). So get ready to dive into the history books and learn about some more “famous firsts” in sports:

  1. Which NFL team lost the first Super Bowl?
  2. In 1990, this man became the first African-American NFL head coach in the modern era.
  3. Sonny Banks was a heavyweight fighter in the early 1960s. What “famous first” is he best known for?
  4. Who was the first-ever No. 1 draft pick in the NBA’s Draft Lottery era?
  5. What was the main event of the very first WrestleMania?
  6. Who was the first freshman to win college football’s coveted Heisman Trophy?
  7. Earlier this year, she became the first freshman to win a major college basketball “Player of the Year” award.
  8. Who was the first player to be unanimously voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
  9. Who became the first golfer to win four consecutive PGA Tour Grand Slam events?
  10. Who was the first guard to be drafted by an NBA team directly out of high school?

ANSWERS:

  1. The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Green Bay Packers, 35-10, in 1967.
  2. Art Shell was hired as the Los Angeles Raiders’ head coach in 1990.
  3. In 1962, Banks became the first boxer to knock down Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) in a professional fight.
  4. Patrick Ewing (1985, New York Knick’s)
  5. Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff
  6. Johnny Manziel won it in 2012.
  7. Paige Bueckers of UConn actually won all four “Player of the Year” awards she was eligible for.
  8. Famed New York Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera was a unanimous inductee for the 2019 class.
  9. Tiger Woods achieved this feat over the 2000 and 2001 calendar years, winning the U.S. Open, The Open and PGA Championship in 2000 and the The Masters in 2001.
  10. Kobe Bryant. He was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 draft.

# # #