Score 1 for every question you get right.
Trivia Scores:
0-10
You’re new to the Brazos Valley by way of Azerbaijan. Glad we could help you get acquainted with your new hometown.
10-20
Not bad … for recently transplanted Canadian. Try to make all the Aggie sporting events this season, and you’ll blend in even better, eh?
20-30
You may have too much time on your hands and/or you’ve been helping us plan this update to Insite’s 1991 Brazos Valley Trivia issue since … 1992.
30+
Seriously? You were born here and one of your parents was a history teacher and the other was a reference librarian. Try to get out more.
Trivia Quiz: The Brazos Valley
True or False: The Dixie Chicken serves the most beer per square foot of any bar in the U.S.?
True! This says a lot for College Station, Texas, the bar capital of the world (most per capita).
Hearne native Rosie Lee Moore Hall is known for her portrayal of which southern cooking icon?
Aunt Jemima. Rosie was the last actual person to portray the character "Aunt Jemima" for the Quaker Oats Company. Over the years, several women played the part of Aunt Jemima, but the last "real" woman was Rosie Lee Moore Hall from Robertson County.
Snook is home to which restaurant, known for being the first to serve Chicken Fried Bacon?
Sodolak’s Original Country Inn
What Bryan/College Station brother and sister pair is known for their roles on television and in the movies?
Raini and Rico Rodriguez. Raini appeared in Paul Blart: Mall Cop and an episode of Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Her younger brother, Rico, plays the role of Manny Delgado on ABC’s Modern Family.
Which southern rapper and singer, known for his breakout hit single “I Look Good” and an astonishing 100+ pound weight loss in 2010, was born in Robertson County?
Charles “Chalie Boy” Williams
Which Wellborn restaurant got its fifteen minutes of fame on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network?
The Hullabaloo Diner in Wellborn was featured on season one, episode two of the show, titled “That’s Italian.”
What famous former Bryanite said, “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did only backwards and wearing heels?”
Syndicated columnist Linda Ellerbee.
What Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter credits part of his success to Bryan/College Station?
Lyle Lovett. Lovett got his musical start playing at such local spots as the MSC Basement Coffeehouse and Grins. Lovett has two A&M degrees to his credit: Journalism (1980) and German (1981). So fond is he of this area that in 1990 Lovett bought a house near the Brazos River.
What Bryan High senior class prank garnered national media attention?
In 1983, some seniors at Bryan High School made a slick getaway after coating the school’s floors with Crisco vegetable oil, causing classes to be suspended and costing hundreds of dollars to degrease. The prank prompted the school district to hire a night watchman. No one was ever officially linked with the slimy crime.
What is the oldest continuing restaurant in Bryan?
Martin’s Place on College Avenue opened in a location a few yards from its present site in 1925. This family business moved to its current site in 1933.
What is the oldest continuing restaurant in College Station?
The International House of Pancakes on University Drive opened in 1966.
What is the oldest business in College Station?
Holick’s Boot Makers opened for business on College Main in 1891. It remains in the Holick family.
Trivia Quiz: TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Texas A&M was almost located in what town?
Bellville. Fortunately, a man named Harvey Mitchell gave a substantial piece of land putting the “college” in College Station.
When did the first off-campus housing become available for Texas A&M students?
1920
During the McCarthy era, what classic novel was removed from the shelves at Texas A&M libraries because of its apparent underlying Communist ideals?
Robin Hood
What distinction did Texas A&M earn during WWII?
Texas A&M furnished more officers to the armed forces than West Point.
What 3 movies have been made about Texas A&M?
1. “We’ve Never Been Licked” was filmed in College Station in 1942-43, and included Robert Mitchum and William Frawley (Fred, I Love Lucy) among the cast.
2. A made-for-television film was released in 2002 entitled “The Junction Boys” based on a book by the same name and chronicling Paul “Bear” Bryant’s first summer as the head football coach for Texas A&M in 1954. Ryan Kwanten, the Australian actor who plays Jason Stackhouse in HBO's True Blood, played one of the football players in the movie. Although set in Junction, Texas, the movie was filmed in Australia and most of the actors in the film are actually Australian, despite fairly convincing Texas accents.
3. Reveille VI became a movie star in the 1996 film “Reveille, My Life as the Aggie Mascot.”
An extra bit of Texas A&M film trivia…
If you pay close attention while watching the 1989 American science fiction comedy, “Back to the Future Part II,” the November 12, 1955, game in which Texas A&M beat Rice University in a 20-12 victory can be heard on the radio. Marty McFly, the film franchise’s main protagonist, is attempting to retrieve a sports almanac from the front seat of a car belonging to the film’s antagonist, Biff Tannen, when the game is mentioned on the air. Listen closely to that radio broadcast!
Before becoming president of Texas A&M, James Earl Rudder earned what military distinction?
Col. James Earl Rudder was commander of the 2nd Battalion, Rudder’s Rangers, one of the two battalions that stormed the beach at Pointe Du Hoc during the Normandy invasion. He later became a Major General.
What is the oldest student organization in Texas?
The Ross Volunteers.
During WWII, which language was not taught at Texas A&M?
German
A little more about WWII-era College Station…
Before the war, many streets in College Stations’ Eastgate district had German names. Today, the neighborhood has street names like “Harrington,” “Milner” and “Foster.”
This year marks the centennial anniversary of which college at Texas A&M?
The College of Ag and Life Sciences
By what nickname is the Beutel Health Center on campus known?
The Quack Shack
Texas A&M turns out the most agents of what clandestine service of any school in the US?
The Central Intelligence Agency
True or False: Lance Armstrong began using the Oran Nicks Low Speed Wind Tunnel off of George Bush Dr. in the late 1990s to improve his bike riding aerodynamics.
True! Lance Armstrong’s last recorded visit to the Oran Nicks Low Speed Wind Tunnel was in 2002. Essentially, the work done there is to reduce the drag of the combined bike and rider by repositioning the rider’s head, handlebars, seat height and other bicycle parts.
You Know You’re a Trivial Person When You Know These Brazos Valley Facts
William Joel Bryan was Stephen F. Austin’s nephew.
West Dexter Street used to be the site of Dexter Lake.
Under Bryan City Ordinance, it is unlawful for any person to maintain and keep any hog or pig within the city.
Bryan’s Carnegie Public Library is one of 33 Carnegie Libraries built in Texas by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Only 13 of the original buildings are still intact.
In 1906, the speed limit in Bryan was 8 miles per hour.
The Brazos River is the longest river in Texas and is named for “Brazos de Dios,” or “arms of God.”
Seventy-nine percent of the total population of Texas lives within a 200-mile radius of Bryan/College Station.
Lawrence Sullivan Ross was governor of Texas before he was president of Texas A&M.
Bryan Independent School District holds the dubious distinction of not fully integrating until 1971—and then only by court order—making it one of the last schools in the nation to desegregate.
Trivia Quiz: SPORTS
What first-ever distinction did the Lady Aggie basketball team achieve in 2011?
Texas A&M women’s basketball won its first NCAA national championship in program history in its first-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four in its eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. The Lady Aggies ended the 2010-11 season with a 33-5 record, the most victories in program history. It was the first 30-win season in 37 all-time seasons of Aggie Basketball.
The A&M women received a program-best No. 1 national ranking in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll, improving on its previous school-best of No. 3 in the Coaches Poll in 2008.
What 3 national records did the combined men and women’s athletic programs achieve in 2011?
1. Texas A&M was the only Division I school to win three NCAA National Championships – women’s basketball and men and women’s track – making it the only Division I school to win two NCAA women’s national championships last year.
2. The Texas A&M track and field program made history by becoming the only school to win dual men’s and women’s national championship titles for three consecutive years.
3. Texas A&M is the only school in the country to achieve in a single season: a football team competing in a post-season bowl game; both men and women’s basketball teams reaching the NCAA Championships; both the men and women’s outdoor track & field teams finishing in the Top 10; and the baseball team reaching the College World Series.
Which gender has more intercollegiate sports teams at Texas A&M – men or women?
Women. Texas A&M competes in 20 intercollegiate sports of which 11 are female and nine are male). Eleven of those teams are ranked in the Top 10 and 16 of the 20 finished in the Top 25 in 2011.
What was the first official Aggie yell?
RAH RAH RAH
HI HO HAH
BOOM CIS BAH
COLLEGE!
In what unusual place did four-time SWC champion Harold Hensley learn to swim?
An irrigation ditch. Under Coach Art Adamson guidance, he became a four-time SWC champion between 1940-1941. Hensley’s collegiate swimming was interrupted, however, by World War II.
How long has men’s tennis been a sport at A&M?
Men’s tennis has been on the A&M campus since before 1900.
Why is patch of turf grass ‘framed’ on Kyle Field?
This small section of turf was squared off and preserved from the original Kyle Field grass when artificial turf was laid in the 1970s. It remained even after real grass was returned to the field in the 1990s.
Who holds A&M’s 20th century record for highest winning percentage in singles tennis?
Doubles (1984) and Singles (1985) All-American Grant Connell ranks as one of the best players to ever take to the courts at A&M. This SWC Player of the Year ranked No. 6 nationally in 1985; the two-time letterman went on the join the Pro Tour where he became know as one of the world’s top doubles specialists.
Who was the first Aggie Olympian?
Jack Mahan finished fifth in the javelin at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.
What year was the first officially recognized track and field team formed?
1898. Track and field events began on the campus in the early 1890s. The first officially recognized team is pictured here.
Who was the first female Aggie NCAA champion?
Two-time All-American Melinda Clark, SWC high jump champ in 1988 and 1989, set a SWC record with a 6’3½” high jump. At the 1989 NCAA meet, Clark’s 6-0¾ high jump captured the title, making her the first female Aggie NCAA champion.
Who was the first to bring Olympic gold to Aggieland?
Two-time All-American in the 440-year dash, Art Harnden brought the first Olympic gold to Aggieland in 1948 as a member of the winning U.S. Olympic 1600-meter relay team.
Who was the first female Aggie Olympian?
Linda Waltman, A&M’s first female All-American, earned her honors after outstanding pentathlon performances in 1977, 1978 and 1979. She was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team that didn’t compete due to a U.S. boycott of the Olympics.
How many years elapsed between A&M baseball’s first and second no-hitters?
66. George Smith pitched the first no-hitter for A&M in 1907, defeating Texas. The next no-hitter would be pitched in 1973.
What year did the first fully funded varsity women’s team play?
1975-1976 season. The team advanced to the TAIAW Tournament.
What year did the first official men’s basketball team take the floor?
1912-1913 season. The six-game season resulted in four wins, with A&M scoring 311 points compared to 96 by their opponents.
In addition to being the original 12th Man for the football team, in what other sport did E. King Gill distinguish himself?
Under coach D.X. Bible, Gill helped the 1923 basketball team win the SWC championship. The following season, Gill was captain of the team and an all-conference player.
Against what team did A&M’s first official football squad face off in 1894?
Galveston’s Ball High School gave the Aggies their first official game, and victory, in College Station. The season witnessed the birth of one of the nation’s greatest sports rivalries, the Aggies versus the Longhorns.
What was the score in A&M’s most lopsided football victory?
110-0 against Daniel Baker College of Brownwood in 1920.
What broadcast record was set by the Aggie football team in 1921?
Football history was made November 24, 1921, as Texas A&M students produced what is likely the first live play-by-play broadcast of any college football game. The action was transmitted in special code from Kyle Field to Austin and some of the other 275 other radio operators around the state, rarely more than one play behind the live action.
How did the Aggies give BEVO his name?
The 1915 football game was the first between the Aggies and the Longhorns on Kyle Field, as well as the first in the newly created Southwest Conference. A&M took the day with a 13-0 victory. Before the 1916 game, A&M students branded the score on Varsity’s mascot. Texas students then altered it to BEVO, which remains the name of the Longhorn’s mascot to this day.
Who carried Coach Stallings off the field when the Aggies won the 1968 Cotton Bowl?
Bear Bryant. The Aggie’s had returned to the Cotton Bowl for the first time in a quarter of a century and Coach Stallings successfully led the Aggies to a thrilling victory over Alabama, coached at that time by former Aggie coach “Bear” Bryant. Stallings, who had been one of Bryant’s ‘Junction Boys’ in 1954, was carried off the field by his former coach.
Trivia Story Written by: Tessa K. moore, Megan Roiz and Caroline Ward. Special thanks to Cathy Capps, director of Texas A&M’s Letterman’s Association and Sports Museum, and the Texas A&M Athletic Department for their help with the Trivia story.
