Games With No Winner

This game is found in J! Archive.

Greg Hopkins, the first champion in Jeopardy! history, was leading with $9,500. Lynne Crawford was in second at $5,000. Paul Schaffer had $1,100. All three inexplicably bet everything on the Final Jeopardy! category THE CALENDAR, and then wrote “What is January 1, 1900” to the clue “Calendar date with which the 20th century began” (the correct response: What was January 1, 1901?). Three new contestants played Episode 3.

Less information is known about this episode. According to Robert Mcielwain, longtime fan and charter archivist at J! Archive, the returning champion was a 3-day champion named Ezra.

Final Jeopardy! category: THE CALENDAR

Final Jeopardy! clue: In 1984, the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Rose, & Sugar Bowls were all played on this date (What is January 2, 1984?)

All three players finished with zero, and the next episode saw the debut of early 5-time champion Mike Day.

This episode is not in J! Archive.

(Thank you to Stefan Goodreau for information about this Final Jeopardy.)

Less information is known about this episode. According to Robert Mcielwain, longtime fan and charter archivist at J! Archive, this game also ended with three players at 0. Because it was a tournament quarterfinal, there was a fifth wildcard spot that opened up.

This episode is not in J! Archive.

This game is found in J! Archive.

This was a Celebrity Jeopardy game.

Scores going into Final Jeopardy:
Jane Curtin $8,500
Teri Garr $2,700
Naomi Judd $900

Final Jeopardy! category: TV SITCOMS

Final Jeopardy! clue: For your information, this series that premiered in 1988 is TV’s longest-running sitcom still on the air (What is Murphy Brown?)

All 3 players bet everything and zeroed out. (Naomi said “the Bill Cosby Show”, Teri “Seinfeld”, and Jane “Married With Children”).

Because Jane was leading going into Final Jeopardy, the show gave Jane’s charity the $15,000 for first place (the U.S. Committee for UNICEF)

This game is found in J! Archive.

Player #3, Marion Arkin, finished with $-400 and missed Final Jeopardy. Robert Levy and Steve Sosnick finished the Double Jeopardy! round tied at $7,600.

Final Jeopardy! category: ORGANIZATIONS

Final Jeopardy! clue: This women’s organization founded in 1890 was chartered by Congress in 1896 (the Daughters of the American Revolution)

Both players guessed the League of Women Voters and wagered everything. Three new players played the next Monday.

This game is found in J! Archive.

Scores going into Final Jeopardy:
Kelton Ellis $16,400
Joe Vertnike $12,000
Tori Amos $1,600

Final Jeopardy! category: CAPITAL CITIES

Final Jeopardy! clue: It’s criss-crossed by dozens of “peace walls” that separate its Catholic & Protestant neighborhoods (What is Belfast?)

All 3 players guessed Dublin and zeroed out. As per the rules at the time, a wildcard to the finals was opened. However, due to the inherent unfairness of this, the rules have since changed, as reported by ToC players recently. A tournament semifinal with three players finishing at $0 will still produce a finalist. It is believed that in this situation (tournament semifinal), the finalist would be the player who was leading going into Final Jeopardy.

This game is found in J! Archive.

Scores going into Final Jeopardy:
Mike Drummond $13,800
Claudia Corriere $13,800
Randi Kristensen $6,000

Final Jeopardy! category: STATE CAPITALS

Final Jeopardy! clue: A 1957 event led to the creation of a Natl. Historic Site in this city, signed by a pres. whose library is now there too (What is Little Rock, Arkansas?)

All three players bet everything and zeroed out. (Randi guessed Springfield, Claudia Austin, and Mike Atlanta.)