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60 free Kansas City Royals trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Kansas City Royals trivia quiz runs from the senator who bullied baseball into giving Kansas City a team, through the powder-blue dynasty of the late 1970s, to the 2015 champions. There are questions on the naming contest and the American Royal, Lou Piniella's rookie award, Whitey Herzog and the three ALCS losses to the Yankees, George Brett's .390 and the Pine Tar Incident, Bret Saberhagen's Cy Youngs, Don Denkinger's call and the I-70 Series, Bo Jackson's All-Star homer, and Ned Yost's bullpen-driven pennants in 2014 and 2015. Kauffman Stadium gets its own round: the fountains, the Truman Sports Complex, the 1973 and 2012 All-Star Games, the 2009 renovation and the on-again, off-again downtown ballpark. There are uniform questions too, from powder blue to the City of Fountains City Connect look, plus retired numbers and franchise records. Easy questions suit any Royals fan; the hard ones are for people who remember Dane Iorg. Every answer has been checked against an encyclopaedic source and each question shows its citation once you have answered.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Royals name pays homage to the American Royal, an annual Kansas City event featuring what?
A livestock show and rodeo
The American Royal is a livestock show and rodeo held in Kansas City since 1899; the name Royals won a 1968 fan contest that drew about 17,000 entries.
Q 02The Royals began play as an expansion team in which year?
1969
The Royals debuted in 1969 as an American League expansion team, alongside the Seattle Pilots, who lasted one season before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers.
Q 03Which pharmaceutical entrepreneur founded the Royals?
Ewing Kauffman
Ewing Kauffman, who built Marion Laboratories from a $5,000 start, bought the expansion franchise in 1968 and owned the Royals for 25 seasons.
Q 04Which Missouri senator threatened baseball's antitrust exemption to get Kansas City a team?
Stuart Symington
Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri threatened to revoke baseball's antitrust exemption after Kansas City lost its team; the American League advanced its expansion by two years in response.
Q 05Which team left Kansas City after the 1967 season, prompting the push for the Royals?
The Athletics
The Athletics played in Kansas City from 1955 to 1967; owner Charlie Finley, who had long shunned the city, then moved them to California.
Q 06The Royals' crown-and-shield logo was designed by an artist at which Kansas City company?
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards artist Shannon Manning designed the crown-and-shield logo with 'KC' inside for the club's debut; the crown turned black for a few years in the 2000s.
Q 07Which future manager won the AL Rookie of the Year Award as a Royals outfielder in 1969?
Lou Piniella
Lou Piniella hit .282 as a rookie for the expansion Royals to win AL Rookie of the Year; he later managed the Reds to the 1990 World Series title.
Q 08The Royals won their first game in 12 innings against which team?
Minnesota Twins
The Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 in 12 innings at Municipal Stadium, with Joe Keough's 12th-inning single driving in the winning run.
Q 09In which year was Royals Stadium renamed Kauffman Stadium?
1993
Royals Stadium became Kauffman Stadium on July 2, 1993, a month before the death of its namesake.
Q 10Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium together make up a sports complex named after whom?
Harry Truman
The complex is named for Harry Truman, the Missouri-born president; building separate baseball and NFL stadiums side by side defied the 1960s fashion for multipurpose bowls.
Q 11The best-known feature of Kauffman Stadium is a display of what behind the right-field fence?
Fountains and waterfalls
At 322 feet wide the 'Water Spectacular' is the largest privately funded fountain in the world.
Q 12The Royals' first game at their new stadium in 1973 was a 12-1 win over which opponent?
Texas Rangers
The Royals beat the Texas Rangers 12-1 in the April 10 opener before 39,464 fans; the park hosted the All-Star Game that same summer.
Q 13The Royals adopted their iconic powder blue road uniforms in which season?
1973
The powder blue road uniforms arrived in 1973, the same season the Royals moved into their new stadium and switched to pullover jerseys.
Q 21The Pine Tar Game was resumed 25 days later and finished with the Royals winning by what score?
5-4
The game resumed on August 18, 1983, with the Royals ahead 5-4 after the reinstated homer; neither side scored again, so 5-4 stood as the final.
Q 22The 1985 all-Missouri World Series between the Royals and Cardinals is nicknamed the what Series?
I-70
Interstate 70 links Kansas City and St. Louis, giving the I-70 Series its name; the Royals came back from 3-1 down to win in seven games.
Q 23Which umpire's disputed safe call on Jorge Orta opened the Royals' ninth-inning rally in the 1985 World Series?
Don Denkinger
Don Denkinger called Jorge Orta safe at first although replays showed the throw beat him; a dropped popup and a passed ball followed, and a pinch-hit single won it.
Q 14Which manager led the Royals to three straight division titles from 1976 to 1978?
Whitey Herzog
Whitey Herzog won three straight AL West titles before being fired after the 1979 season; as Cardinals manager he lost the 1985 World Series to the Royals.
Q 15The Royals lost the ALCS three years running from 1976 to 1978 to which team?
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees won all three of those ALCS; the Royals finally got revenge with a three-game sweep in 1980, capped by George Brett's homer off Goose Gossage.
Q 16The Royals' first 100-win season came in which year?
1977
The 1977 Royals went 102-60, the franchise's first 100-win season, yet lost the ALCS in five games; the 2015 champions won only 95.
Q 17George Brett hit what batting average in his 1980 MVP season?
.390
George Brett finished 1980 at .390 after batting above .400 as late as September 19; he also drove in 118 runs in just 117 games.
Q 18The Royals lost their first World Series, in 1980, to which team?
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies won in six games for the franchise's first championship; Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson to end Game 6.
Q 19In the 1983 Pine Tar Incident, George Brett's bat had pine tar more than how far up the handle?
18 inches
The rule allowed pine tar no more than 18 inches up the handle; AL president Lee MacPhail reinstated the homer, ruling the limit was about keeping baseballs clean rather than unfair advantage.
Q 20Which Yankees manager came out of the dugout to challenge Brett's bat in the Pine Tar Game?
Billy Martin
Manager Billy Martin, who had known about the bat for weeks, asked umpire Tim McClelland to measure it; Brett's furious charge from the dugout became one of baseball's most replayed clips.
Q 24Who pitched a shutout in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series as the Royals won 11-0?
Bret Saberhagen
Bret Saberhagen, that season's AL Cy Young winner, threw a five-hit shutout in Game 7 and was named Series MVP; he won a second Cy Young in 1989.
Q 25Which pinch hitter's walk-off single won Game 6 of the 1985 World Series for Kansas City?
Dane Iorg
Dane Iorg's pinch single scored two runs in the ninth to win Game 6 2-1; he had won a ring with the Cardinals three years earlier.
Q 26Whose go-ahead three-run triple off Dave Stieb won Game 7 of the 1985 ALCS in Toronto?
Jim Sundberg
Jim Sundberg's bases-loaded triple off the top of the right-field fence broke Game 7 open in the sixth; the Royals had trailed 3-1 in the first best-of-seven LCS.
Q 27George Brett's 1990 batting title made him the first player to win one in how many different decades?
3
George Brett's 1990 title, after crowns in 1976 and 1980, made him the first player to win batting titles in three different decades; he finished with 3,154 hits.
Q 28Which two-sport star hit a leadoff home run in the 1989 All-Star Game while playing for the Royals?
Bo Jackson
Bo Jackson led off the 1989 All-Star Game with a homer off Rick Reuschel and was named the game's MVP; Vin Scully's 'Bo Jackson says hello!' became a signature call.
Q 29The Royals waived their two-sport star in spring 1991 after he injured his hip playing which other sport?
Football
The hip was dislocated playing football for the Los Angeles Raiders in a January 1991 NFL playoff game; the star had won the 1985 Heisman Trophy at Auburn.
Q 30The Royals have retired No. 5 for George Brett and No. 20 for which second baseman?
Frank White
Frank White, the eight-time Gold Glove second baseman, had No. 20 retired in 1995; manager Dick Howser's No. 10 was retired after his death in 1987.