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Any Questions #242

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel celebrate No. 42 with a show about Jackie Robinson.

Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase GRAD SCHOOL. Rearrange the letters and you can spell a two-word phrase associated with ships. What is the phrase?
Answer: The phrase is CARGO HOLDS.

THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: JACKIE ROBINSON
On-air questions: On April 15, 1947 a man named Jackie Robinson started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Up to that point, African-American players had been relegated to the Negro Leagues. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, and every year since 2004 (April 15, 2004, to be exact) Major League Baseball has celebrated Jackie Robinson Day, on which every player wears Robinson's number 42. Today is Jackie Robinson Day here on Any Questions?, because that's who this week's quiz is about.

1. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., is given to individuals making "an especially meritorious contribution" to, among other things, "significant public or private endeavors". In March of 1984, Jackie Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by what president?
2. In 1951, Robinson hit a home run that won the final game of the season for the Dodgers, forcing a playoff series against the Giants. The Dodgers eventually lost that series, thanks in part to a home run hit by Bobby Thomson. By what phrase has Thomson's home run come to be known?
3. In June of 1949, actor and athlete Paul Robeson made comments about the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. The following month, Jackie Robinson was called to testify and comment on Robeson's statement in front of what governmental committee, which in the mid-1940s, began focusing its efforts on Communism in the U.S.?
4. During a ceremony honoring the 25th anniversary of his major league debut, Robinson commented, "I'm going to be tremendously more pleased and more proud when I look at that third base coaching line one day and see a black face managing in baseball." His wish came true two years after his death when what former outfielder – no relation to Jackie – became the manager of the Cleveland Indians, the first of four teams he would manage?
5. Jackie Robinson has been portrayed numerous times on stage and screen over the years. He was played by Andre Braugher in the 1990 TV movie The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson, and in the 2013 film 42, he was portrayed by Chadwick Boseman. Who first starred as Robinson in the 1950 film simply titled The Jackie Robinson Story?

Extra credit
1. The main entrance to CitiField, the home of the New York Mets, is called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. It is modeled after the entrance to what erstwhile New York ballpark?
2. When Jackie Robinson's number 42 was retired in 1997, the players who were currently wearing it were allowed to continue to do so until they changed teams or numbers. Who was the last player to wear number 42, doing so until his retirement in 2013?

This week's challenge
Start with the phrase SECOND BASE. Add a letter, and you can rearrange the result to spell a two-word phrase (four letters, seven letters) that might describe a plot point in a movie starring Sean Connery or Daniel Craig. What is it?

ANSWERS
On-air questions

1. Ronald Reagan
2. "The Shot Heard 'Round the World"
3. House Un-American Activities Committee
4. Frank Robinson
5. Jackie Robinson

Extra credit
1. Ebbets Field
2. Mariano Rivera
 

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in late 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and various newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.
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