SABR 53: Mark Simon is a ‘lucky’ winner for first time in individual Trivia Contest; Kent, Carle, Rafal win team final
After 13 unlucky trivia contests, Mark Simon of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania finally came out on top and earned his first individual SABR trivia championship during an entertaining and emotional Closing Ceremonies at SABR 53 on Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Irving, Texas.
Simon, a researcher and writer at Sports Info Solutions, took advantage of questions about #1 picks in the amateur draft and held on to defeat defending champion Scott Kent of Celina, Texas, in the championship final at the Westin DFW Airport Hotel.
In the team final, a squad of past champions called “Death to Flying Things” prevailed. The team included Kent; Rob Rafal of Douglaston, New York; and Bill Carle of Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
The other team finalist was “Hornsby,” consisting of Texas chapter members Michael Lassman, Jim Baker, Cyril Morong, and Eric Bynum.
Simon said he has participated in the Trivia Contest every year he has attended the convention, but his closest chance at a plaque was a runner-up finish in 2016 at SABR 46 in Miami.
Carle won his eighth team title, second all-time to Mark Kanter, while Rafal moved into a tie for third place with seven team titles. Kent won his first team title after winning his first individual title last year in Minneapolis.
The SABR 53 Trivia Contest included an “Immaculate Feud” competition based on the popular Immaculate Grid game produced by Baseball-Reference.com, along with a new format: a “Name That Player” game based on identifying Texas-related players based only on a screenshot of their Baseball-Reference stat lines.
Scott Kent defeated Bill Carle in the new “Name That Player” final.
The Immaculate Feud competition was won by the Tim Belcher All-Stars: Richard Smiley, Steve Roney, Mark Kozlevcar, R.J. Lesch, and David Raglin.
The other Immaculate Feud finalists were Brian Wood, Rick Anderson, Eddie Anderson, and Patrick Montgomery.
The SABR Trivia Contest was moderated by five-time champion Dan Massey. Massey and T. Scott Brandon wrote and edited the questions. Assistance in evening sessions at SABR 53 was given by David Firstman, Paul Zwirecki, Tasha Rivera, and Damian Begley. Massey assembled the game boards of the semifinal and final rounds.
To view a list of previous SABR Trivia Contest winners, click here.
For more coverage of SABR 53, visit SABR.org/convention.
Originally published: June 28, 2025. Last Updated: June 28, 2025.