History week: multi-sport Celtics trivia

If you wish to try the harder All-Star edition of the quiz, try to answer the questions without looking at the multiple choice offerings.

Layup: Which track event was Bill Russell once ranked among the world's top 10 in?

A) 800 meters B) High jump

Dunk: What sport did Larry Bird play for Indiana State after his senior basketball season in spring 1979?

A) Baseball B) Tennis

Free throw: Which team was Celtic sharpshooter Bill Sharman sitting on the bench for as a late-season call-up when Bobby Thomson hit his famous pennant-winning "shot heard 'round the world" home run in the 1951 National League playoffs?

A) New York Giants B) Brooklyn Dodgers C) LA Dodgers

Free throw: Which defending champion NFL team did Celtic great John Havlicek try out for as a receiver?

A) Green Bay Packers B) Cleveland Browns C) New York Giants

Jumper: What team did Danny Ainge play two seasons of major league baseball for in the early 1980s?*what was his main position

A) Boston B) NY Yankees C) Toronto D) Baltimore

Jumper: Which position did late 1950s/early 1960s Celtic reserve Gene Conley play for the Milwaukee Braves when he became the only man to win an NBA title and a World Series in 1957?

A) 1st base B) Outfield C) 3rd base D) Pitcher

3-pointer: After retiring as an NBA coach, Hall of Famer Bob Cousy was the commissioner of what pro sports league from 1974-79?

A) American Soccer League B) American Basketball Association

C) Pro Bowlers Association D) Pro Golfers Association

E) World Hockey Association

3-pointer: What NFL team drafted tenacious guard and future Boston head coach K.C. Jones as a potential defensive back?

A) San Francisco 49ers B) Los Angeles Rams

C) Dallas Cowboys D) New York Giants

E) Washington Redskins

17 points is the highest possible score; extra points only apply if the correct answer is given first.

Answers

Layup-B) High jump. Russell was a world class high jumper, as was Wilt Chamberlain.

Dunk-A) Baseball. Devout St. Louis Cardinal fan Larry Bird made a big target at first base for Indiana State after his senior basketball season in the spring of 1979.

Free throw-B) Brooklyn Dodgers. Celtic sharpshooter Bill Sharman was sitting on the Dodger bench for as a late-season call-up when Bobby Thomson hit his famous pennant-winning "shot heard 'round the world" home run in the 1951 National League playoffs for the Giants to win the series 2-1.

Sharman was a standout basketball/baseball player at USC< leading the Trojans to the 1948 College World Series title as a hard-hitting first baseman.

Free throw-B) Cleveland Browns. Eastern Ohio native Havlicek was the last man cut in 1962 from the defending NFL champion Browns, who were loaed at receiver. They tried to get him try out again several tims, but once wsas enough. Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes called the athletic Havlicek "the best quarterback in the Big 10" after trying unsuccessfully to get Hondo to put on the pads.

Jumper-C) Toronto. Danny Ainge played two seasons of major league baseball for the 1977 expansion team Blue Jays in the early 1980s, batting .220 primarily as a third baseman* and occasional second baseman.

Jumper-Celtic reserve forward Gene Conley was a pitcher for the Milwaukee Braves when he became the only man to win an NBA title and a World Series in 1957. The Braves beat the Yankees in seven games to win it all in 1957. The next year, Milwaukee held a 3-1 lead over the New Yorkers but the Yanks stormed back to win the series 4-3. The 6-7 Conley won NBA titles with the Cletics from 1959-61.

3-pointer-A) American Soccer League. Despite admittedly knowing nothing about soccer, Bob Cousy was hired as a name for exposure to be the commissioner of the ASL from 1974-79.

After retiring from the Celtics in 1963 he coached Boston College for six highly successful seasons. He then had less success coaching Cincinnati and Kansas City of the NBA from 1969-74.

3-pointer-B) Los Angeles Rams drafted California native and University of San Francisco grad K.C. Jones as a potential defensive back.