Seventy-five sports trivia questions with answers, sorted by sport and difficulty, ready for a party, a quiz night or a road trip. Every date, medal count and Hall of Fame class below was checked against a primary source, Olympedia's medal tables, the Naismith Basketball, Baseball and Pro Football Halls of Fame, and MLB's own World Series history, so you can read the answers out loud with confidence.
The questions run from freebies any casual fan gets to stumpers that settle tiebreakers. If your table wants variety beyond sports, our full set of fun trivia questions for adults covers every other category, and none of the questions below repeat it. Movie buffs and music heads get their own sets too: movie trivia questions and music trivia questions.
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How to Use This Quiz
Three formats that work. Party mode: one reader, teams shout answers, one point each, start with the kids section and the soccer basics so nobody checks out early. Quiz night: pick 5 questions per section, answers written on paper, the tiebreaker list decides ties. Family mode: alternate one easy and one medium question per round so every generation scores. Questions are numbered 1 to 75; the answer follows each question, so the reader should keep the screen to themselves. One honest note: record counts for active athletes are cited exactly as the source table listed them at research time, and the wording of those questions says so.
World Soccer and Latin Legends
1. In which country was basketball great Oscar Schmidt, nicknamed "Mão Santa" (Holy Hand), born? Brazil, in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, as his Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame profile records.
2. What is the name of South America's continental club championship, organized by CONMEBOL? The Copa Libertadores.
3. How many players per team are on the court in a futsal match? Five, including the goalkeeper.
4. In soccer, which card does the referee show to send a player off? The red card.
5. What do you call a goal a player scores against their own team? An own goal.
6. How many goals must a player score in a single match to complete a hat-trick? Three.
7. From what distance is a penalty kick taken in soccer? 12 yards (11 meters) from the goal line.
8. How long does each half of an official soccer match last? 45 minutes, plus stoppage time.
9. What restart is used when the ball goes out over the sideline? A throw-in.
10. In soccer, who is the only player allowed to use their hands inside their own penalty area? The goalkeeper.
11. What does the referee call when an attacker is ahead of the second-to-last defender at the moment of the pass? Offside.
The Olympic Games
12. In which city and year were the first modern Olympic Games held? Athens, in 1896.
13. How many nations sent athletes to the Athens 1896 Games? 14.
14. How many athletes competed in Athens 1896? 241.
15. Who won the marathon at Athens 1896, to the delight of 100,000 spectators? Spyridon Louis of Greece, who won by more than seven minutes.
16. Which athlete holds 28 Olympic medals, the largest total in Olympedia's all-time medal table? Michael Phelps of the United States, with 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.
17. In which city and year were the Summer Olympics held in Brazil? Rio de Janeiro, in 2016, with 11,238 athletes and 207 delegations.
18. Which Jamaican sprinter holds 8 Olympic gold medals? Usain Bolt, with 8 golds and no silver or bronze.
19. Which gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union holds 18 Olympic medals, the second-largest total in Olympedia's table, behind only Michael Phelps? Larisa Latynina, with 9 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze.
20. Which American track and field athlete holds 9 Olympic golds and 10 medals in total? Carl Lewis.
21. Which country leads the all-time Olympic medal table with more than 3,100 medals? The United States, with 1,236 golds and 3,146 medals in total.
22. How often are the Summer Olympic Games held? Every four years.
Basketball
23. In what year was Michael Jordan enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame? 2009.
24. How many NBA Finals MVP awards does the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame credit to Michael Jordan? Six, alongside 6 NBA championships and 5 season MVP awards.
25. Which Brazilian is described by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as the all-time leading scorer in Olympic basketball history? Oscar Schmidt, enshrined in 2013.
26. How many points per game did Oscar Schmidt average at the 1988 Olympics, according to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame? 42.3 points per game.
27. Which center, enshrined in 1995, retired as the NBA's all-time leading scorer and was famous for the skyhook? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
28. In how many statistical categories did the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame list Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leader? Nine.
29. How many NBA championships did Bill Russell win with the Boston Celtics? Eleven, including eight consecutive titles from 1959 to 1966, per his Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame profile.
30. In what year did Bill Russell enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame? 1975.
31. How many points is a basket made from beyond the three-point line worth? Three points.
Baseball
32. In which class was Babe Ruth inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame? The Class of 1936, the Hall's very first, listed as a right fielder.
33. In what year did Hank Aaron enter the Baseball Hall of Fame? 1982.
34. In what year was Jackie Robinson inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and at which position did he play? 1962, as a second baseman.
35. In what year did Roberto Clemente, from Puerto Rico, enter the Baseball Hall of Fame? 1973, as a right fielder.
36. In what year was the first World Series played between the National League and the American League? 1903, in a best-of-nine series, per MLB's World Series history.
37. From what year on did the World Series become an annual tradition? 1905. Since then the only year without one was 1994, because of the players' strike.
38. In what year was the World Series first played outside the United States, and which team won? 1992, when the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves in six games.
39. Who pitched the only perfect game in World Series history, and in what year? Don Larsen of the Yankees, in 1956.
40. In what year did the Chicago Cubs end the longest drought in World Series history, and how far back did it reach? 2016, winning their first title since 1908.
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American Football
41. In what year did Jerry Rice enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame? 2010.
42. How many career receptions does the Pro Football Hall of Fame credit to Jerry Rice? 1,549, with 22,895 receiving yards over 20 seasons.
43. How many total touchdowns does the Pro Football Hall of Fame credit to Jerry Rice? 208.
44. What single-season receiving yards record did Jerry Rice set, and in what year? 1,848 yards, in 1995.
45. In what year was Joe Montana enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? 2000, after 15 seasons and 40,551 passing yards.
46. In what year did Walter Payton enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and how many rushing yards did he total? 1993, with 16,726 rushing yards over 13 seasons.
47. How many consecutive games did Walter Payton start between 1975 and 1987, the most ever by a running back? 178 games, including the postseason.
Tennis, Golf and Racquets
48. How many tournaments make up the Grand Slam of tennis? Four: the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
49. On what kind of surface is Roland Garros played? Clay.
50. In tennis, what word means a score of zero in a game? Love.
51. In tennis, what do you call the point that, if won, ends the match? Match point.
52. In golf, what do you call finishing a hole one stroke under par? A birdie.
53. In golf, what is it called when the ball goes into the hole with a single stroke, straight from the tee? A hole in one (an ace).
Rules, Courts and Equipment
54. How many players per team are on the court in a volleyball match? Six.
55. How many points are needed to win a volleyball set, with a two-point lead? 25 points (the fifth, deciding set goes to 15).
56. How many players per team are on the court in a basketball game? Five.
57. Which sport is played on a table with a low net and a light plastic ball? Table tennis (ping-pong).
58. In professional men's boxing, how many minutes does each round last? Three minutes.
59. In rugby union, how many players per team start on the field? Fifteen.
60. How many players per team are on the court in a handball match? Seven, including the goalkeeper.
61. In swimming, which of the four official strokes is swum on the back? The backstroke.
Records and Numbers
62. How many Olympic gold medals did Michael Phelps win across his career, per Olympedia's medal table? 23.
63. Which Norwegian cross-country skier holds 11 Olympic golds, according to the Olympedia medal table consulted for this article? Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, with 11 golds and 13 medals in total.
64. How many Olympic medals had swimmer Katie Ledecky accumulated, per the Olympedia count consulted for this article? 14, nine of them gold.
65. How many Olympic golds did the Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi win? 9, with 12 medals in total.
66. How many Olympic medals had gymnast Simone Biles accumulated, per the Olympedia count consulted for this article? 11, seven of them gold.
67. How many Olympic golds did the Soviet Union total in its history, per Olympedia's country table? 473, out of 1,204 medals overall.
Easy Ones for Kids
68. In which sport do two teams carry an oval ball to the far end of the field, passing it only backward? Rugby.
69. In which sport do players wear a helmet, swing a bat at a hard little ball, and run around four bases? Baseball.
70. Which sport is practiced in a pool, swimming from one side to the other? Swimming.
71. Which sport is performed on ice, wearing skates, with dance-like moves? Figure skating.
72. In which sport must the ball go over a net and touch the floor on the other team's side? Volleyball.
73. Which sport is practiced on a mat, wearing a gi, using throwing techniques? Judo.
74. Which sport is practiced standing on a board, gliding over ocean waves? Surfing.
75. In which sport does the athlete run and jump as far as possible into a sand pit? The long jump.
The Hard Ones (Tiebreakers)
When two teams tie, pull from these eight, already listed above and chosen for their miss rate: 15 (the 1896 marathon winner), 19 (Latynina's 18 medals), 26 (the 42.3 points per game), 29 (Russell's eleven championships), 44 (the 1,848-yard season), 47 (the 178 consecutive starts), 63 (Klæbo's 11 golds), 67 (the Soviet gold total). Read the question, not the number, and give teams thirty seconds flat.
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FAQ
How many sports trivia questions are in this list?
Seventy-five, numbered straight through and grouped into nine themed sections, from soccer basics and a kids section to a sourced records-and-numbers block, with eight flagged as tiebreakers.
Are the answers verified?
Every date, medal count and Hall of Fame class was checked against a primary source: Olympedia's medal tables, the official pages of the Naismith Basketball, Baseball and Pro Football Halls of Fame, and MLB's World Series history. Questions about rules and equipment rest on common knowledge that needs no citation.
Why are there no questions about current champions?
Because they expire. A question about the reigning champion is wrong the moment the next season ends. Every question here is anchored to a closed fact, a year, a class, a completed career, so the quiz reads the same in five years. Counts for active athletes are quoted exactly as the source table listed them at research time, and the question wording says so.
What is a good format for a sports quiz night?
Five questions per themed section, written answers, one point each, and the tiebreaker list held in reserve. Starting with the kids section keeps casual players in the game; ending on records and numbers rewards the real fans.