77 Fun Facts About Sports Trivia 2023

Which team won Super Bowl LVII in February 2023?

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 on Harrison Butker's field goal with eight seconds left, the first Super Bowl to pit two brothers, Travis and Jason Kelce, against each other.

Who was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl LVII?

Patrick Mahomes, playing the second half on a re-aggravated high ankle sprain, threw three touchdown passes and won his second Super Bowl MVP award.

In which US state was Super Bowl LVII played?

Arizona staged the game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, where the grass proved so slick that players on both teams kept losing their footing and several changed cleats during the game.

Which franchise won its first-ever World Series in 2023?

The Texas Rangers, who began life in 1961 as the Washington Senators, had twice stood one strike from the title in Game 6 of the 2011 Series, only to lose it.

Which club lost the 2023 World Series, the third ever played between two wild-card teams?

The Arizona Diamondbacks had lost 110 games only two seasons earlier, then beat the Phillies in a seven-game series to win the pennant before losing the World Series in five.

Which team won its first NBA championship in 2023, after 47 seasons in the NBA?

The Denver Nuggets, an ABA team until 1976, won the Finals in five games with guard Jamal Murray back after a torn knee ligament had cost him the whole of the 2021–22 season.

Who was the unanimous choice for 2023 NBA Finals MVP?

Nikola Jokić took all 11 votes. In 2014 his selection as the 41st pick of the draft was shown on a ticker while a Taco Bell commercial aired, and no Finals MVP had been drafted so low.

Which top seed did Miami beat in the 2023 NBA first round?

The Milwaukee Bucks had the league's best record but fell in five games, Jimmy Butler scoring 56 points in Game 4; Miami, which had needed the play-in just to qualify, went on to reach the Finals.

Which team won the 2023 Stanley Cup, its first, in only its sixth NHL season?

The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers in five games, making good on owner Bill Foley's early boast of "playoffs in three, Cup in six" in exactly their sixth season.

Who won the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup?

Spain beat England 1–0 in the final, Olga Carmona scoring the only goal in the 29th minute for the country's first Women's World Cup title.

Which two countries co-hosted the 2023 Women's World Cup?

Australia and New Zealand made it the first senior World Cup split between two confederations, because Australia left Oceania's football body for Asia's in 2006 while New Zealand stayed.

Which first-time qualifier reached the 2023 Women's World Cup knockout rounds, months after its men's World Cup semi-final run?

Morocco, the first Arab nation to qualify, lost its opening game 6–0, then won its next two group matches to go through. None of the other seven debutants got out of the groups.

Which nation became the first to win the Rugby World Cup four times, in 2023?

South Africa beat New Zealand 12–11 in the final, their third knockout win in a row by a single point after 29–28 against France and 16–15 against England.

Which All Blacks captain became the first man sent off in a Rugby World Cup final, in 2023?

Sam Cane's yellow card for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel was upgraded to red by the bunker review in the first half, the first red card in a men's World Cup final.

Who beat host nation India in the final of the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

Australia won by six wickets with seven overs to spare, their sixth title, ending India's run of ten straight wins in the tournament.

The 2023 Cricket World Cup final was played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in which Indian city?

Ahmedabad is the biggest city in Gujarat, the state Narendra Modi ran as chief minister before he became prime minister; its 132,000-seat ground was the largest in world cricket.

Who was Player of the Match in both the 2023 World Test Championship final and the Cricket World Cup final?

Travis Head made 163 in the World Test Championship final and 137 in the World Cup final, weeks after a broken hand had kept him out of the start of the tournament.

What was the result of the 2023 men's Ashes series in England?

Drawn 2–2: England won the third and fifth Tests after losing the first two, and Stuart Broad took the final wicket with the last ball he ever bowled in Test cricket.

Who won the 2023 Masters by four strokes?

Jon Rahm opened with a four-putt double bogey on Thursday yet won by four shots on Sunday, which would have been fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros's 66th birthday.

Who became the first LIV Golf member to win a major, at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill?

Brooks Koepka won by two shots for his fifth major, a month after taking a two-shot lead into the final round of the Masters and losing it with a 75.

What did club pro Michael Block do on Sunday at the 2023 PGA Championship?

Michael Block made the only hole-in-one of the week, acing the par-3 15th on Sunday alongside Rory McIlroy, and his tie for 15th earned a return invitation for 2024.

Who won the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, one shot ahead of Rory McIlroy?

Wyndham Clark finished at 10 under for his first major title; he had never placed better than 75th in a major and had missed the cut in his two previous U.S. Opens.

Who won the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool by six shots?

Brian Harman, only the third left-hander to win the Open, had gone six years without a PGA Tour victory before finishing six shots clear at Hoylake.

The 2023 Ryder Cup was played just outside which European capital?

Marco Simone sits in Guidonia Montecelio, just outside Rome; Europe won 16½–11½ after sweeping the opening foursomes 4–0 on Friday morning.

Who captained Europe to victory in the 2023 Ryder Cup?

Luke Donald was appointed in August 2022 after Henrik Stenson was stripped of the captaincy for joining LIV Golf, and led Europe to a 16½–11½ win.

How did the 2023 Solheim Cup end, with a result never seen before in the event?

It finished 14–14, the first tie in the event's history, and Europe retained the trophy because holders need only 14 points; home player Carlota Ciganda beat Nelly Korda in the Sunday singles.

Which driver won a record 19 of the 22 Formula One Grands Prix in 2023?

Max Verstappen won ten of them in a row, breaking Sebastian Vettel's record of nine straight wins, and sealed the title in a Saturday sprint race in Qatar.

Which team won every 2023 Formula One Grand Prix except one?

Red Bull Racing won 21 of the 22 races, the best win rate on record, despite a 10 percent cut in aerodynamic testing imposed as a penalty for breaking the sport's 2021 budget cap.

Who ended Novak Djokovic's run of four straight Wimbledon titles by winning the 2023 men's final in five sets?

Carlos Alcaraz lost the first set 6–1 but won in five for his second major title, handing Djokovic his first defeat on Centre Court in more than ten years.

At Wimbledon 2023, Markéta Vondroušová became the first women's champion of the Open Era to be what?

Unseeded and ranked 42nd, she beat Ons Jabeur in the final, a year after visiting Wimbledon as a tourist with her injured wrist in a cast.

Whose record 24 Grand Slam singles titles did Novak Djokovic equal at the 2023 US Open?

Margaret Court won 13 of her 24 as an amateur, before the majors opened to professionals in 1968; Djokovic drew level by beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, his third major of 2023.

Who won the 2023 US Open women's singles, her first Grand Slam title?

Coco Gauff came from a set down to win her first major at 19, the first American teenager to take the title since Serena Williams in 1999.

Who won her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open, beating Elena Rybakina in the final?

Aryna Sabalenka came from a set down to win, months after a serve so erratic that she hit more than 400 double faults in 2022 and hired a biomechanics expert to rebuild it.

Iga Świątek defended her French Open title in 2023 by beating which Czech player in the final?

Karolína Muchová, ranked 43rd, had saved a match point to beat the world number two in the semi-finals, then took Świątek to three sets in her first major final.

Who won the 2023 Tour de France for the second year running?

Jonas Vingegaard led Tadej Pogačar by just ten seconds after two weeks, then won the stage-16 time trial by 1:38 and the race by 7:29.

Which 2023 horse race did 15–1 shot Mage win?

The Kentucky Derby fell to Mage by a length. Forte, the colt who had beaten him in the Florida Derby, was withdrawn with a bruised foot hours before the start.

The start of the 2023 Grand National was delayed by 14 minutes after protests by which group?

Animal Rising activists breached the Aintree course and over 100 were arrested, pushing the start back 14 minutes before Corach Rambler won.

Who won the 2023 Indianapolis 500 with a pass on the final restart, half a lap from the finish?

Josef Newgarden, a two-time series champion, passed Marcus Ericsson on the final lap after a one-lap shootout restart, ending an 0-for-11 record at the Speedway.

Which school won the 2023 NCAA men's basketball championship, its fifth title?

UConn had only tied for fourth in its own conference and lost in the Big East semi-finals, then won all six NCAA tournament games by at least 13 points, the last of them 76–59.

Which LSU star was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 NCAA women's Final Four?

Angel Reese had a double-double in the 102–85 final win over Iowa, then waved a hand in front of her face at Caitlin Clark, the same gesture Clark had made two games earlier.

Which country won the 2023 World Baseball Classic, beating the United States 3–2 in the final?

Japan won a record third title, unbeaten through the tournament, with Shohei Ohtani striking out Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out.

Which team signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract in December 2023?

The Los Angeles Dodgers pay him only $2 million a year for now: at Ohtani's own suggestion, $680 million is deferred until 2034–2043 so the club can keep spending on other players.

Who became the first MLB player to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in one season, in 2023?

Ronald Acuña Jr. hit 41 homers and stole 73 bases, passing the Braves' modern-era steals record set by Otis Nixon, who had not hit a single home run in his record year, and was a unanimous MVP.

Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest in January 2023 during a game against which team?

The Bills–Cincinnati Bengals Monday Night Football game in Cincinnati was abandoned after Hamlin collapsed following a tackle; he returned to play for Buffalo the following season.

Which quarterback announced on February 1, 2023 that he was retiring "for good"?

Tom Brady, who had unretired 40 days after a first announcement in February 2022, confirmed his retirement exactly a year later after 23 seasons and seven Super Bowl wins.

Which quarterback's 2023 season ended with a ruptured Achilles on his fourth snap for the Jets?

Aaron Rodgers, traded from Green Bay that spring, went down on his fourth snap against Buffalo; the Jets still won 22–16 in overtime on Xavier Gipson's punt-return touchdown.

Whom did the Carolina Panthers select first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City?

Bryce Young, Alabama's 2021 Heisman winner, went first after Carolina traded up with the Bears, giving up receiver D.J. Moore and a haul of picks.

Which team drafted 7-foot-4 French phenom Victor Wembanyama first overall in 2023?

The San Antonio Spurs landed the first pick after sinking to a 22–60 season, and Wembanyama repaid them at once as the unanimous Rookie of the Year.

Which team selected Connor Bedard first overall in the 2023 NHL entry draft?

The Chicago Blackhawks jumped two places by winning the draft lottery and took Bedard, the first Western Hockey League player granted exceptional status to play major junior at 15.

Lionel Messi's first trophy with Inter Miami came in the 2023 Leagues Cup final on penalties against which club?

Inter Miami beat Nashville SC 10–9 on penalties after a 1–1 draw; the shootout ran until the goalkeepers faced each other, and Drake Callender both scored his kick and saved Elliot Panicco's.

Which former England captain handed Lionel Messi the 2023 Ballon d'Or?

David Beckham co-owns Inter Miami, the club Messi had joined that summer, a move that made this the first Ballon d'Or won by a player based outside Europe.

Who won the 2023 Ballon d'Or Féminin after lifting both the Champions League and the World Cup that year?

Aitana Bonmatí took the award Alexia Putellas had won in 2021 and 2022, in the season after Putellas tore a knee ligament; Bonmatí was also named the World Cup's best player.

Manchester City completed the treble by beating which club 1–0 in the 2023 Champions League final?

Rodri's 68th-minute goal beat Inter Milan in Istanbul for City's first European Cup, completing only the second English men's treble after United's in 1999.

Whose single-season Premier League goals record, shared with Andy Cole, did Erling Haaland break?

Alan Shearer matched Cole's 34 in 1994–95, and the mark stood for 28 years until Haaland passed it in his first season in England, scoring 36 in only 35 appearances.

Which club won its first Serie A title in 33 years in 2023?

Napoli had last been champions in 1990 with Diego Maradona, then went bankrupt and were playing in the third tier as recently as 2006; a draw at Udinese sealed the title with five games left.

Which club won the 2022–23 National League with 111 points to return to the Football League after 15 years?

Wrexham, owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, held off Notts County by four points; it was the first of three straight promotions, a run no club in England's top five tiers had managed.

Cristiano Ronaldo began 2023 by joining which Saudi club?

Al Nassr announced the signing on 30 December 2022, on a deal reported at about €200 million a year, and Karim Benzema and Neymar were among the stars who followed him to Saudi clubs.

Which country won the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, its first title, without losing a game?

Germany went 8–0, beating Serbia 83–77 in the final in Manila, while the United States lost the bronze-medal game to Canada and finished fourth.

Who won the women's 100 m at the 2023 World Championships in a championship-record 10.65 seconds?

Sha'Carri Richardson ran 10.65, a championship record, from an outside lane after finishing only third in her semi-final and reaching the final on time alone.

Kelvin Kiptum set a marathon world record of 2:00:35 in 2023 at which race?

Kiptum ran 2:00:35 in Chicago, 34 seconds inside the previous world record; the mark was ratified five days before he died in a car crash in February 2024.

Where did Tigst Assefa break the women's marathon world record by over two minutes in 2023?

Assefa ran 2:11:53 in Berlin, taking 2 minutes 11 seconds off Brigid Kosgei's record; she had been an 800 m runner at the 2016 Olympics and ran her first marathon only in 2022.

Which marathon great finished only sixth on his Boston Marathon debut in 2023?

Eliud Kipchoge lost touch with the leaders on the hills after 30 km and finished in 2:09:23, then the slowest marathon of his career, more than three minutes behind Evans Chebet, who kept his title.

Faith Kipyegon won two golds at the 2023 World Championships: the 1500 m and which other event?

The 5000 m was almost new to her: that June she had raced it for the first time in eight years and broken the world record, one of three world records she set that summer.

Whose alpine World Cup wins record did Mikaela Shiffrin pass with her 87th win in 2023?

Ingemar Stenmark's 86 wins had stood since 1989. Before Shiffrin passed him with a slalom win in Åre, Sweden, he said: "She's much better than I was."

Simone Biles returned to competition in 2023 and won her sixth world all-around title in which city?

Antwerp is where Biles won her first world title in 2013. She came back a decade later, two years after the 'twisties' made her withdraw at the Tokyo Olympics and put her career on hold.

Léon Marchand broke Michael Phelps's last individual world record at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in which event?

The 400 m individual medley mark of 4:03.84 had stood since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Marchand swam 4:02.50 while Phelps called the race on television, and Phelps then handed out the medals.

Which sport drew 92,003 fans to Nebraska's football stadium in August 2023, a US record for a women's sporting event?

Volleyball: Nebraska beat Omaha on a raised court built on the football field for 'Volleyball Day in Nebraska', and the players heard the record announced over the speakers between sets.

The 2023 Netball World Cup, the first held in Africa, was staged in which city?

Cape Town's convention centre saw the Diamonds lose to England at a World Cup for the first time, 56–55 in the group stage, then beat them 61–45 in the final three days later.

Which NFL legend and civil rights activist died in May 2023, aged 87?

Jim Brown ran for Cleveland for nine seasons without missing a game, then stunned the sport in 1966 by retiring at 30, at the peak of his career, to become a film actor.

Which famously combustible college basketball coach died on November 1, 2023, aged 83?

Bob Knight won three national titles at Indiana (1976, 1981, 1987), coached the 1984 US Olympic team to gold, and famously threw a chair across the court in 1985.

Which golfer in 2023 became the first since 1951 to win her LPGA Tour professional debut?

Rose Zhang beat Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff at the Mizuho Americas Open, two weeks after winning a second NCAA title for Stanford, and the win made her an LPGA Tour member on the spot.

Who won the 2023 Giro d'Italia, becoming the first Slovenian to take the race?

Primož Roglič won his fourth Grand Tour, overturning Geraint Thomas's lead in the penultimate day's mountain time trial despite a dropped chain; Evenepoel had left in pink after stage 9 with COVID-19.

Which American rider won the 2023 Vuelta a España?

Sepp Kuss was the support rider who had helped two teammates win that year's Giro and Tour; at the Vuelta he beat them both in a Jumbo–Visma podium sweep, the first American Grand Tour winner since Chris Horner in 2013.

Which club beat Fiorentina in the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final?

West Ham United beat Fiorentina 2–1 in Prague, Jarrod Bowen scoring in the 90th minute for the club's first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup.

Which South American capital hosted the 2023 Pan American Games, a first for its country?

Santiago had been awarded the Games twice before, for 1975 and 1987, and gave them up both times amid political and financial trouble, so 2023 was the first time Chile staged them.

Which Brazilian club won its first Copa Libertadores in 2023, beating Boca Juniors at the Maracanã?

Fluminense beat Boca 2–1 after extra time on 4 November, John Kennedy scoring the winner, and went on to the 2023 and 2025 FIFA Club World Cups.

Who won the 2023 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible?

Luca Brecel had lost his opening match on all five earlier visits to the Crucible. In the 2023 semi-final he trailed 14–5 and still won, the biggest comeback there, then beat Mark Selby 18–15.