80 Fun Facts About Sports Trivia 2023

Which team won Super Bowl LVII in February 2023?

Harrison Butker's late field goal settled a 38–35 shootout in Glendale, the first Super Bowl to feature two brothers on opposite sides (Travis and Jason Kelce).

Who was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl LVII?

He played the second half on a re-aggravated high ankle sprain and still threw three touchdowns.

In which US state was Super Bowl LVII played?

State Farm Stadium in Glendale had also hosted Super Bowls XLII and XLIX.

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

The club had waited since its 1961 founding as the second Washington Senators, and had lost the 2010 and 2011 Series.

The 2023 World Series was only the third ever played between two wild-card teams. Which club lost it?

The previous all-wild-card Series were 2002 (Angels–Giants) and 2014 (Giants–Royals).

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

They became only the second former ABA franchise to win an NBA title, after the San Antonio Spurs.

Who was the unanimous choice for 2023 NBA Finals MVP?

He averaged a 30-point, 14-rebound, 7-assist line for the series while shooting 58 percent from the field.

The Miami Heat reached the 2023 NBA Finals as which playoff seed?

They lost their first play-in game to Atlanta, beat Chicago in the second, and became only the second eighth seed ever to reach the Finals after the 1999 Knicks.

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

They beat Florida four games to one; it was the first Final since 2018 in which neither team had previously lifted the Cup.

Who won the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup?

Olga Carmona's first-half goal beat the reigning European champions 1–0 in Sydney.

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

It was also the first World Cup of any kind spread across two confederations, since one host is in the AFC and the other in the OFC.

How many teams played at the 2023 Women's World Cup, up from 24 in 2019?

The expanded field matched the men's tournament size and produced debuts for eight nations, including Morocco and the Philippines.

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

They are also the only side ever to win the tournament after losing a pool match, and won three knockout games by a single point each.

What was the final score of the 2023 Rugby World Cup final at the Stade de France?

All twelve of the winners' points came from Handré Pollard's boot; the losers scored the only try of the match.

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

His yellow card for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel was upgraded to red by the bunker review after 27 minutes.

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

India had won all ten previous matches of the tournament before losing the one that mattered by six wickets.

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

With a capacity above 130,000 it is the largest cricket ground in the world.

Which Australian was Player of the Match in both the 2023 World Test Championship and World Cup finals?

He scored 137 in the World Cup final after breaking his hand earlier in the year and missing the group stage.

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

Stuart Broad took the series' final wicket with the last ball he ever bowled in Test cricket.

Who won the 2023 Masters by four strokes?

He four-putted the first hole on Thursday for a double bogey and still won, on what would have been Seve Ballesteros's 66th birthday.

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

It was his fifth major and third PGA, a feat matched in the stroke-play era only by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Club pro Michael Block became a folk hero at the 2023 PGA Championship. What did he do in the final round?

The 46-year-old head pro from Mission Viejo finished tied 15th, earning an automatic invitation back for 2024.

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

He had never finished 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?

The left-hander from Georgia had not won on the PGA Tour in six years before his week at Hoylake.

The 2023 Ryder Cup was staged at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, near which European capital?

Europe won 16½–11½ after sweeping the opening foursomes 4–0 on Friday morning.

Who captained Europe to victory in the 2023 Ryder Cup?

He got the job only after the original captain was stripped of it for defecting to LIV Golf.

How did the 2023 Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesín end?

It was the first tie in the event's history; as holders, Europe kept the trophy.

How many of the 22 Grands Prix did Max Verstappen win during the 2023 Formula One season?

He also stood on the podium 21 times, and clinched the title in Qatar with six rounds to spare.

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

Carlos Sainz's win in Singapore was the only race the champions did not take, a 95.45 percent strike rate.

Who ended Novak Djokovic's four-year reign at Wimbledon by winning the 2023 men's final in five sets?

It ended a 19-year streak of Wimbledon titles by the Big Four and was only his second major.

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

Ranked 42nd, she was the lowest-ranked champion since the WTA rankings began in 1975.

How many men's singles Grand Slam titles had Novak Djokovic won after the 2023 US Open?

He won three of the four majors in 2023 and, at 36, was the second-oldest US Open men's champion of the Open Era.

Who won the 2023 US Open, the first American teenager to do so since Serena in 1999?

She came from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka, four years after her breakthrough as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon.

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

Her opponent's run made her the first Kazakhstani player of either sex to enter the top ten.

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

She became the first woman to retain the Roland Garros title since Justine Henin in 2007.

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

Only ten seconds separated the top two after two weeks before the stage-16 time trial blew the race open.

Which horse won the 2023 Kentucky Derby?

He had only one previous win and became just the fourth horse to take the Derby off three career starts.

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

Corach Rambler won it for the same trainer-jockey pairing that had landed the race with One For Arthur in 2017.

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

The two-time IndyCar champion had gone 0-for-11 at the Speedway before finally drinking the milk.

The 2023 Daytona 500 was the longest ever run. How many miles did it cover?

Two overtime restarts stretched it 30 miles past its scheduled distance; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won.

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

They beat San Diego State 76–59, the Aztecs having become the first Mountain West team ever to reach a Final Four.

Who was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 NCAA women's Final Four?

LSU's 102 points against Iowa were the most ever scored in a women's championship game.

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

It was a record third title, sealed by Shohei Ohtani striking out Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out.

Shohei Ohtani's December 2023 contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers was worth how much over ten years?

Most of the money is deferred; the deal was the largest in professional sports history at the time.

In 2023 Ronald Acuña Jr. became the first MLB player with 40 home runs and how many stolen bases in one season?

He finished with 73 steals, a modern-era Braves record, and was the unanimous NL MVP.

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

The Monday Night Football game was abandoned; he was back playing for Buffalo the following season.

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

He had unretired 40 days after his first announcement a year earlier; this time it stuck.

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

He had arrived from Green Bay that April in a blockbuster trade, then went down against Buffalo on Monday Night Football.

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

Carolina had traded up with Chicago for the pick, giving up receiver D.J. Moore and a haul of selections.

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

He went on to win Rookie of the Year, following Tim Duncan and David Robinson as franchise-defining big men in San Antonio.

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

He had been the first WHL player granted exceptional-player status, drafted into junior hockey at 15.

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

The shootout went to an eleventh round, in which the two goalkeepers faced each other and Drake Callender scored then saved.

How many Ballons d'Or had Lionel Messi won after collecting the 2023 award?

He became the only player to win it while playing outside Europe, and with three different clubs.

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

The Barcelona midfielder was also named player of the tournament at the World Cup.

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

Rodri scored the only goal; it was City's first European Cup and only the second English men's treble after United in 1999.

How many Premier League goals did Erling Haaland score in 2022–23, a single-season record?

He did it in just 35 appearances in his debut English season.

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

Their previous Scudetto had come with Diego Maradona in 1990; the title was clinched with five games to spare.

Which club owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney won the 2023 National League to rejoin the Football League?

It was the first of three straight promotions, something no club in England's top five tiers had ever done.

Cristiano Ronaldo began 2023 by joining which Saudi club?

His move, announced on 30 December 2022, opened the floodgates for Benzema, Neymar and dozens of others to follow to the Saudi Pro League.

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

They beat Serbia 83–77 in the final in Manila; the US finished fourth.

Noah Lyles won a sprint treble at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. In which city were they held?

He took the 100 m in a personal-best 9.83, then added the 200 m and the 4x100 m relay.

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

She ran from lane nine after only scraping through the semi-finals as a fastest loser.

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

He took 34 seconds off Eliud Kipchoge's mark; the record was ratified just five days before Kiptum died in a car crash in February 2024.

Tigst Assefa broke the women's marathon world record by more than two minutes in September 2023. Where?

Her 2:11:53 came on the same day Eliud Kipchoge won the men's race there for a record fifth time.

Who won the 2023 Boston Marathon, successfully defending his title?

It was his third World Marathon Major win in a row, and Kipchoge finished only sixth in his Boston debut.

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

She had already broken three world records that summer, at 1500 m, the mile and 5000 m.

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

The Swede's mark of 86 had stood since 1989.

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

It was the same city where she won her first world title a decade earlier, in 2013.

Léon Marchand set a world record of 4:02.50 at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in which event?

The Frenchman trains under Bob Bowman, the coach who guided Michael Phelps.

A women's volleyball match at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium in August 2023 drew a record crowd of how many?

The 'Volleyball Day in Nebraska' crowd was claimed as the largest ever to watch a women's sporting event.

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

Australia beat England 61–45 in the final for a 12th title; the hosts finished sixth.

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

The Browns fullback led the league in rushing in eight of his nine seasons before walking away at 29 to act.

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

He won three national titles at Indiana and coached the 1984 US Olympic team to gold.

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

The Stanford star had just become the first woman to win the NCAA individual title twice.

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

It was his fourth Grand Tour victory; Evenepoel had led in pink before withdrawing after stage 9 with COVID-19.

Which American rider won the 2023 Vuelta a España?

The 78th Vuelta began in Barcelona and also dipped into Andorra and France.

Sevilla beat Roma on penalties in the 2023 Europa League final in which city?

The 4-1 shootout win at the Puskás Aréna gave Sevilla a record seventh UEFA Cup/Europa League title.

Which city hosted the 2023 Pan American Games, the first ever held in Chile?

The mascot, Fiu, was a many-colored rush tyrant chosen by online poll in 2021.

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

The 2-1 win came after extra time on 4 November and sent them to the 2023 and 2025 FIFA Club World Cups.

Who won the 2023 World Snooker Championship, the first champion from mainland Europe?

The Belgian beat Mark Selby 18-15 in a final where Selby became the first player to make a maximum break in a world final.