Ipswich Town Trivia
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59 free Ipswich Town trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Ipswich Town did not turn professional until 1936, yet won the First Division at the first attempt in 1962 and gave England both of its most successful managers. This quiz covers the whole story: the merger with the town's rugby club, Alf Ramsey's title and departure for England, the 121 goals conceded in 1964, Bobby Robson's thirteen years, Roger Osborne's Wembley winner and his fainting fit, John Wark's penalties, the Dutch pair Mühren and Thijssen, the 5-4 UEFA Cup final against AZ, the Escape to Victory cameos, the 9-0 at Old Trafford, George Burley's fifth place, Roy Keane, League One and Kieran McKenna's back-to-back promotions. Early questions suit anyone who has heard 'Old Farm derby'; later ones are for Town fans who know their Churchmans from their Cobbold Stand: what Portman Road pioneered in 1890, who first switched on the floodlights, which German club's fans visit every year, and what animal dominates the crest. Good for a supporters' club night or a Suffolk pub quiz. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the club, Portman Road and the 1978 and 1981 finals, and each question shows its source.
30 of 59 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Ipswich A.F.C. became Ipswich Town in 1888 after merging with a club that played which sport?
Rugby
Rugby: the association club merged with Ipswich Rugby Club in 1888 to become Ipswich Town, then stayed amateur for another 48 years, turning professional only in 1936.
Q 02Ipswich were elected to the Football League in 1938 in place of which club?
Gillingham
Gillingham finished bottom of the Third Division South and lost the re-election vote to Ipswich, who had turned professional only two years earlier.
Q 03Which manager replaced Scott Duncan at Ipswich in August 1955 and later won the league title with the club?
Alf Ramsey
Alf Ramsey took Ipswich from the Third Division South to champions of England in seven seasons, then won the 1966 World Cup as England manager.
Q 04Newly promoted Ipswich won the league title in 1961-62, their first top-flight season, ahead of which runners-up?
Burnley
Burnley scored 101 league goals to the champions' 93 that season but still finished three points behind the newcomers.
Q 05After beating Floriana in their first European tie in 1962, Ipswich lost to which eventual champions?
AC Milan
AC Milan won the first leg 3-0 and went on to lift the 1963 European Cup, though Ipswich won the return 2-1 at Portman Road.
Q 06Which manager was in charge when Ipswich conceded 121 league goals and went down in 1964?
Jackie Milburn
Jackie Milburn, the Newcastle United great, saw his side finish bottom with nine wins from 42 games, and he resigned early the following season.
Q 07Bill McGarry left Ipswich after winning the 1967-68 Second Division to manage which club?
Wolves
Wolves took Bill McGarry in November 1968, and Ipswich replaced him with Bobby Robson, a 35-year-old just sacked from his first job in English management.
Q 08Steve Stacey, Ipswich's first black league player, was signed in 1968 from which Welsh club?
Wrexham
Wrexham had made Stacey, the Bristol-born son of an African-American GI, a league player in 1966; he joined Ipswich in September 1968 and later emigrated to Australia.
Q 09Ipswich beat Manchester United 6-0 in 1979–80 despite United keeper Gary Bailey doing what?
Saving three penalties
Saving three penalties, one of them a retake, could not rescue Gary Bailey: Paul Mariner scored a hat-trick and United finished the season two points short of the title.
Q 10Which Dutch pair did Robson bring to Ipswich in the late 1970s?
Arnold Mühren and Frans Thijssen
Arnold Mühren and Frans Thijssen gave Ipswich a passing midfield, and in 1981 Thijssen was voted Footballer of the Year as the club won the UEFA Cup.
Q 11Who scored the only goal of the 1978 FA Cup final for Ipswich against Arsenal?
Roger Osborne
Roger Osborne celebrated so wildly that he felt faint and was substituted at once, having just won Ipswich the only FA Cup in their history.
Q 12Which club did Ipswich beat 3-1 at Highbury in the 1978 FA Cup semi-final?
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion fell behind early to Brian Talbot, who was hurt scoring and had to go off, yet Ipswich went on to reach their first FA Cup final.
Q 13Ipswich's 6-1 FA Cup win at Millwall in 1978 was held up in the first half by what?
Crowd violence
Crowd violence spilled from the terraces onto the pitch after George Burley's early goal; the referee insisted the tie be finished, and Ipswich went on to score six.
Q 21Which manager took Ipswich up as Second Division champions into the first Premier League season?
John Lyall
John Lyall had been sacked by West Ham in 1989 after their relegation; three years later he won the Second Division title with Ipswich.
Q 22Ipswich suffered a then Premier League record 9-0 defeat in 1995 at which ground?
Old Trafford
Old Trafford saw Andy Cole score five of the nine, yet Ipswich had beaten Manchester United 3-2 at Portman Road earlier that season.
Q 23Which club did George Burley's Ipswich beat 4-2 in the 2000 Division One play-off final?
Barnsley
Barnsley led through an own goal by Ipswich's goalkeeper, but Ipswich hit back to win after losing play-off semi-finals in each of the three previous seasons.
Q 14Ipswich won the 1981 UEFA Cup 5-4 on aggregate over which Dutch club?
AZ Alkmaar
AZ Alkmaar won the second leg 4-2 in Amsterdam, so Ipswich lifted the trophy on a night they lost, saved by a 3-0 win at Portman Road.
Q 15In the first leg of the 1981 UEFA Cup final, who opened the scoring for Ipswich from the penalty spot?
John Wark
John Wark, a midfielder, scored in both legs of the final, having hit four in one match against Aris Salonika in the first round.
Q 16On the way to winning the 1981 UEFA Cup, Ipswich won 4-1 away at which French club starring Michel Platini?
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne scored first in the quarter-final first leg, but Ipswich replied with four, two of them from Paul Mariner.
Q 17Which club won the 1980-81 league title despite losing to runners-up Ipswich both home and away that season?
Aston Villa
Aston Villa lost to Ipswich three times that season, twice in the league and once in the FA Cup, yet finished four points clear at the top.
Q 18Which Ipswich player doubled for Michael Caine in the football scenes of Escape to Victory?
Kevin Beattie
Kevin Beattie played Caine's football scenes and, by his own account, beat Sylvester Stallone at arm-wrestling during the shoot.
Q 19Bobby Robson left Ipswich in July 1982 to do what?
Manage England
Manage England: Robson left after 13 years at Portman Road and took the national side to the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals and the 1990 semi-finals.
Q 20Terry Butcher, the last key player from the 1981 side, was sold after the 1986 relegation to which club?
Rangers
An expensive new stand had squeezed the budget even as Thijssen and Wark were sold.
Q 24In 2000-01 Ipswich finished fifth, pipped to a Champions League place on the final day by whom?
Liverpool
Liverpool took the last Champions League place by winning on the final day while Ipswich drew at Derby; George Burley was still named Manager of the Year.
Q 25How did Ipswich qualify for European football in 2002 despite being relegated from the Premier League?
Through the UEFA Fair Play ranking
Through the UEFA Fair Play ranking, relegated Ipswich entered the 2002-03 UEFA Cup and won two ties before losing on penalties to Slovan Liberec.
Q 26Which Ipswich-born academy graduate was sold to Newcastle United in 1999 for £6 million?
Kieron Dyer
Kieron Dyer spent eight years at Newcastle and came back to Portman Road on loan in 2011, twelve years after the sale.
Q 27Which businessman bought an 87.5% stake in Ipswich in December 2007, investing around £44 million?
Marcus Evans
Marcus Evans took on the club's £32 million debt as part of the takeover, and his company's name was on the shirts from 2008 to 2018.
Q 28Which former Manchester United captain managed Ipswich from April 2009 until his sacking in January 2011?
Roy Keane
Roy Keane's first full season began with 14 league games without a win, and he was sacked midway through his second.
Q 29Which manager, sacked in October 2018 after less than five months, had the shortest reign of any permanent Ipswich boss?
Paul Hurst
Paul Hurst won one of his 14 league games after arriving from Shrewsbury, and Ipswich were relegated at the end of that season.
Q 30Which former Norwich City manager was in charge when Ipswich dropped into the third tier in 2019?
Paul Lambert
Paul Lambert had taken Norwich from League One to the Premier League, but at Ipswich he could not prevent a first drop to the third tier since 1957.