Get Warmed Up for Super Bowl With Some NFL Trivia

By Jeff Figler

Welcome to a sports trivia column by Jeff Figler. Here are 16 football questions that will test even the most grizzled gridiron fan. If you answer most of these, the next stop is the NFL Network!

The questions are separated by difficulty. Answers are located on the bottom of the page.

Easy
1. What NFL team once had Bob Hope, Henry Mancini, Maureen Reagan and Danny Thomas on its advisory board?

2. How many years must a player be retired to be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

3. What pro football franchise did Tim Mara buy in 1925 for $500?

4. What is the name given to the last overall draft pick?

5. In what year did the NFL and the AFL merge?

Moderate
6. What team hired the NFL’s first professional cheerleading squad?

7. What teams played in the first all-California Super Bowl?

8. What Dallas quarterback fumbled a record five times in four Super Bowl games?

9. When was the famous "Heidi" game played?

10. What other position besides quarterback did Danny White play for the Dallas Cowboys?

Difficult
11. What were NFL players required to wear in games for the first time in 1943?

12. Who played in the first ever Monday Night Football game?

13. Who was the first African-American to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

14. In what year did the NFL and AFL hold their first combined college draft? Who was the first person selected?

15. Who was the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy?

Bonus
What geometric shape is a football?

Trivia answers

1. Los Angeles Rams

2. Five

3. New York Giants

4. Mr. Irrelevant

5. 1966

6. The Dallas Cowboys in 1972.

7. The San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXlX.

8. Roger Staubach

9. Nov. 17, 1968 – New York Jets at Oakland Raiders

10. Punter

11. Helmets

12. The Cleveland Browns defeated the New York Jets 31-21 on Sept. 21, 1970.

13. Emlen Tunnell

14. 1967. The Baltimore Colts selected Bubba Smith from Michigan State.

15. Ernie Davis, Syracuse (1961).

Bonus answer: A prolate spheroid.

Jeff Figler is a noted trivia expert, collector and author. His recent book, “Collecting for Beginners,” can be ordered from www.collectingwithjeff.com.