You remember Gene Rayburn, the quizmaster of ‘‘The Match Game’’? The premise of this long-running show was delightfully simple. Gene would ask six celebrities a question, often a fill-in-the-blank, and the celebs (Betty White, Soupy Sales, Joe Garagiola, etc.) would scribble an answer on a card. The contestant then would give her/his answer in the hopes of matching the panelists’ answers. The most correct answers would win the game and money.
The first version of the show ran from 1962 to ’69. An upscale version (it was in color) ran in several iterations between 1973 and ’90 in syndication. The celebrities (White, Charles Nelson Reilly, Richard Dawson, Brett Somers, etc.) were encouraged to be much racier with their answers. The show since has been revived, hosted by Alec Baldwin.
That brings us to our weekly quiz, in which you must match the clues below with one of the players listed. Also, see if you can figure out why there are 10 questions instead of the usual nine this week. Have fun and learn a lot.
OK, Johnny Olson, what do you say now? ‘‘Get ready to match the stars!’’
CLUES
a. Had two hits in each of four All-Star Games.
b. Stole home in the World Series.
c. Played with the Cubs and sang with the New Christy Minstrels.
d. Performed regularly with Second City.
e. Led the majors in hits in the 1990s.
f. Babe Ruth was his babysitter.
g. Threw a no-hitter and sang with the Eurythmics.
h. Cubs pitcher with the most walks against the White Sox in a game (seven).
i. Was a Cub and an original Met.
j. Flew with Amelia Earhart.
k. Missed two seasons in the bigs because of the Korean War.
l. Wore No. 71 with the Red Sox.
m. Only Hall of Fame pitcher with at least 1,000 strikeouts but even more walks (21 seasons with the White Sox).
n. Finished third in a hot-dog-eating contest at Coney Island (1987).
o. Regis Philbin was his father-in-law.
p. Pitched for the Cubs and White Sox.
q. Has hit the same number of home runs as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (104).
r. Once held the rookie home-run record with 39 (2017).
s. Holds the White Sox’ single-season record with 77 steals.
t. Tied a major-league record by allowing six solo homers in a game.
u. A hit-by-pitch kept him from throwing a perfect game (2021).
v. Never allowed a homer to Barry Bonds but intentionally walked him 11 times.
w. This dude owes me money ($473).
x. Struck out 11-plus batters in a game more frequently than any pitcher in Chicago history.
y. Was romantically involved with Mariska Hargitay.
z. Last player to wear No. 42 on the White Sox (1996).
PLAYERS
1. Cody Bellinger
2. Mark Grace
3. Matt Swarmer
4. Rudy Law
5. Nellie Fox
6. Ted Lyons
7. Scott Ruffcorn
8. Richie Ashburn
9. Carlos Rodon
10. Ian Happ
ANSWERS
1. R
2. E
3. T
4. S
5. A
6. M
7. Z
8. I
9. U
10. Q
(Read the answers backward. It spells quizmaster.)
Hope you had fun this week. This has been a Mark Goodson/Bill Todman Production. Actually, a Bill Chuck/Tracey Labovitz Production brought to you by the Chicago Sun-Times. See you next week, and have a Happy Valentine’s Day.
