Southampton Trivia
0Loading crowd target
0Loading crowd target
7correct to beat the crowd
50 free Southampton trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Southampton began as a church young men's team in 1885, gave Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid their red-and-white stripes, and won the FA Cup as a Second Division side. This quiz covers the whole story: the six Southern League titles, the two early Cup finals, the bomb that cratered The Dell, England's first permanent floodlights, Ted Bates and Ron Davies, Lawrie McMenemy and Bobby Stokes in 1976, Kevin Keegan's two years, the 1984 runners-up, Le Tissier and Shearer, the 1999 Great Escape, the last goal at The Dell, Markus Liebherr and the League One rescue, Adkins and Lambert's double promotion, Pochettino and Koeman, Mané's 176-second hat-trick, van Dijk's £75 million, the two 9-0s, Russell Martin's play-off win and the 2026 spying scandal. Early questions suit anyone who has sung 'When the Saints Go Marching In'; later ones are for supporters who know their Antelope Ground from their Archers Road end: what the 'Even Season' was, which Spanish clubs owe their colours to a batch of Saints shirts, and who scored seven in one match in 1901. Good for a supporters' club night or a Hampshire pub quiz. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's article on the club and its records, and each question shows its source.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Southampton were founded in November 1885 by members of what organisation?
A church young men's association
A church young men's association, the St Mary's Church of England Young Men's Association, founded the club on 21 November 1885, giving it both its name and the 'Saints' nickname.
Q 02Where did the young St Mary's side play most early games, interrupted by pedestrians exercising their right to roam?
The Common
The Common, the city's open parkland, hosted most early St Mary's matches, with play halted whenever walkers crossed the pitch; bigger cup ties moved to the County Cricket Ground or the Antelope Ground.
Q 03How many times did Southampton win the Southern League championship before joining the Football League?
Six
Six Southern League titles came in 1897, 1898 and 1899, then 1901, 1903 and 1904, all before the Saints joined the Football League's new Third Division in 1920.
Q 04Southampton lost their first FA Cup final, in 1900, by what score to Bury?
4-0
Bury won 4-0 at Crystal Palace on 21 April 1900, Southampton's first final as a Southern League side; two years later they lost a replayed final 2-1 to Sheffield United.
Q 05Which two Spanish clubs owe their red-and-white colours to 50 Southampton shirts bought in England in 1909?
Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid
Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid both took red and white from the 50 Southampton shirts Juan Elorduy brought back from England; Madrid was then a branch club of Bilbao, and both had previously worn blue and white.
Q 06The Dell, opened in 1898, cost how much to build?
£10,000
£10,000 was put up by fish merchant George Thomas, who built The Dell and leased it to the club until they bought it in 1906; it remained home for 103 years, until 2001.
Q 07Southampton's 1922-23 campaign is known as the 'Even Season' because of what?
14 wins, 14 draws and 14 defeats
14 wins, 14 draws and 14 defeats in the Second Division, with 40 goals scored and 40 conceded, left Southampton mid-table on exactly 42 points from 42 games.
Q 08In November 1940 Southampton briefly had to play home games at Fratton Park because of what?
A bomb cratered and flooded The Dell pitch
A bomb cratered and flooded The Dell pitch: the 18-foot hole broke an underground culvert and left the ground under water, so the Saints borrowed Portsmouth's Fratton Park for a spell.
Q 09In 1950 The Dell became the first ground in England to have what?
Permanent floodlighting
Permanent floodlighting was switched on at The Dell for a friendly against Tottenham on 31 October 1950, the first such installation at an English ground; by the 1990s its 15,000 capacity was the smallest in the top flight.
Q 10Which striker set Southampton's club record with 44 goals in the 1959-60 Third Division title season?
Derek Reeves
Derek Reeves scored 39 league goals and 44 in all competitions in 1959-60, a club record, as Ted Bates's side took the Third Division title; Bates later led the club into the First Division in 1966.
Q 11Which striker scored 30 of Southampton's 85 goals as they first reached the First Division in 1966?
Martin Chivers
Martin Chivers hit 30 league goals as Ted Bates's side finished runners-up to Manchester City in 1965-66; Ron Davies arrived that summer and top-scored in the First Division the next season.
Q 12Southampton's first European campaign, in the 1969-70 Fairs Cup, ended with a third-round exit to which club?
Newcastle United
Newcastle United, the holders, went through on away goals after a 0-0 draw at The Dell and 1-1 at St James' Park; Southampton had beaten Rosenborg and Vitória de Guimarães to get there.
Q 13Who scored Southampton's winner against Manchester United in the 1976 FA Cup final?
Bobby Stokes
Q 21Which former England manager took over Southampton in 2000, then quit for Tottenham a year later?
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle, England manager from 1996 to 1999, replaced Dave Jones in January 2000 and left for Tottenham in March 2001; Jones had stood aside to fight abuse charges that collapsed in court.
Q 22The last ever league goal at The Dell, in a 3-2 win in May 2001, was scored how?
A Le Tissier half-volley on the turn
A Le Tissier half-volley on the turn, late in the final league game at The Dell on 19 May 2001, won it 3-2; he had come off the bench, and the club moved to St Mary's that summer.
Q 23Southampton reached the 2003 FA Cup final, losing 1-0 in Cardiff, powered by 24 goals from which striker?
Bobby Stokes struck in the 83rd minute from Jim McCalliog's pass to beat Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley, a shock win for a Second Division side; McMenemy's men had gone down in 1974 under the enlarged relegation rule.
Q 14Southampton's 1979 League Cup final ended in a 3-2 defeat to which club?
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest, the holders, came from behind at Wembley, Garry Birtles scoring twice after David Peach had put Saints ahead; Southampton had returned to the top flight a year earlier as runners-up to Bolton.
Q 15Which reigning European Footballer of the Year did Lawrie McMenemy sign for Southampton in 1980?
Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan, Ballon d'Or winner in 1978 and 1979, joined from Hamburg for £420,000, scored 26 league goals in 1981-82 to be voted PFA Player of the Year, then left for Newcastle.
Q 16Southampton's 1983-84 runners-up finish left them how many points behind champions Liverpool?
Three
Three points separated them: Liverpool took the title with 80 points to Southampton's 77, and Saints also lost that season's FA Cup semi-final 1-0 to Everton at Highbury.
Q 17Which Guernsey-born Southampton midfielder was PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990?
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier, born in Guernsey in 1968, spent his whole career at Southampton from 1986 to 2002, scoring 161 league goals and winning eight England caps.
Q 18Alan Shearer announced himself in April 1988 by scoring a hat-trick against which club at the age of 17?
Arsenal
Arsenal were beaten 4-2 at The Dell on 9 April 1988 as Shearer, at 17 years and 240 days, became the youngest First Division hat-trick scorer; he left for Blackburn in 1992 for a British-record £3.6 million.
Q 19Which two Souness signings scored twice each in Southampton's 6-3 win over Manchester United in 1996?
Egil Østenstad and Eyal Berkovic
Egil Østenstad and Eyal Berkovic each scored twice, Le Tissier once and a David May own goal completed the rout of Ferguson's champions at The Dell in October 1996; Souness quit after one season.
Q 20Which Latvian striker helped Le Tissier keep Southampton up in the 1998-99 'Great Escape'?
Marian Pahars
Marian Pahars, signed from Skonto Riga in March 1999, scored twice in the final-day 2-0 win over Everton that kept Saints up; they had spent much of the season in the relegation zone.
James Beattie
James Beattie's 23 Premier League goals, behind only van Nistelrooy and Henry that season, earned him an England call-up; the final was played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium while Wembley was rebuilt, and Saints finished eighth.
Q 24Which manager did Rupert Lowe appoint in December 2004, days after he resigned at Portsmouth?
Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp crossed the south-coast divide on 8 December 2004, signed his son Jamie, and took Saints down on the final day in May 2005, ending 27 seasons in the top flight, before returning to Portsmouth that December.
Q 25Which England rugby World Cup-winning coach joined Southampton's staff in June 2005?
Clive Woodward
Clive Woodward, who had coached England to the 2003 Rugby World Cup, was brought in by chairman Rupert Lowe as performance director in June 2005 and left in 2006 to join the British Olympic Association.
Q 26Which 17-year-old left-back broke into Southampton's side in 2006-07 before a £5 million sale to Tottenham?
Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale, then a left-back, scored five goals in 2006-07, several from free-kicks, at the age of 17, and joined Tottenham in May 2007 for an initial £5 million; Theo Walcott had been sold a year earlier.
Q 27Which Swiss-German businessman bought Southampton out of administration in 2009, a year before his death?
Markus Liebherr
Markus Liebherr, heir to the Liebherr crane and machinery fortune, completed his takeover in July 2009 and died in August 2010; the Markus Liebherr Pavilion at the Staplewood training campus is named after him.
Q 28Southampton's 4-1 Wembley win over Carlisle in March 2010, their first silverware since 1976, came in which competition?
The Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, then sponsored as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, was won 4-1 in front of 73,476 at Wembley; Saints had begun that League One season on minus 10 points after administration.
Q 29Rickie Lambert, Southampton's first big signing under the new owners in 2009, arrived from which club?
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers sold him for about £1 million in August 2009; he scored 36 goals in his first season at Saints, was Championship Player of the Year in 2012 and won an England call-up in 2013.
Q 30Nigel Adkins had twice won promotion with which club before joining Southampton in 2010?
Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United won promotion to the Championship under Adkins in 2007 and again in 2009 via the play-offs; he joined Saints in September 2010 and took them up twice more.