Favorite memorized Passage

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;” Colossians 3:16a

Honors and Accomplishments

• Athens New Years Classic Champion (2012, 2013)
• Colorado Invitational Champion (2013)
• SCQANIT Champion (2013)
• AACS Champion (2013)
• Athens New Years Classic Top Quizzer (2012)

In 2008, Bobby began quizzing over Romans and James with Hillsdale Baptist in Tampa, Florida. While the Hillsdale quiz program was new, the founders of the program, Pastor Brian and Mrs. Linda Barber, were seasoned. After success leading a quiz program in California (winning SCQANIT in 2004), they moved to Florida and began another successful program. Bobby was instrumental in taking this program to the next level. By the time he graduated in 2013, Hillsdale had no less than five majors.

Bobby’s first trip to the Colorado Invitational came in February, 2009. Though the third highest statistical quizzer on his team, Bobby managed to place inside the top twenty of the entire tournament field individually. Over the next two seasons, Bobby and Hillsdale would continue to improve, having to fight for the top spot in Florida, the most competitive state for Bible Quizzing at the time.

From 2008-2010, Calvary Baptist in the greater Orlando area represented Florida and won that tournament twice (2009 & 2010) in addition to winning the New Year’s Classic, Colorado Invitational, and SCQANIT, each in three different seasons. This ministry was not only great from a national perspective but they were the in-state hurdle that Hillsdale would have to beat just to appear at AACS. Calvary would represent Florida at AACS one final time in 2010, ending their dynasty with a win and graduating their best quizzers.

By his sophomore year (2010-2011), with a more experienced roster, the Calvary program in a rebuild, and his improvement at the game, Hillsdale was competitive for each tournament they attended. To end the season, Hillsdale finished 5th at SCQANIT and 2nd at AACS to New York. So close to winning a major that year but not able to get over the hump.

Bobby’s junior year started off with a bang. He posted a top quizzer performance for the tournament and Hillsdale won their first major victory at the New Year’s Classic in 2012. Finally getting over the hump! It seemed every quiz Hillsdale entered, Bobby picked his questions early on and the rest of the field was left chasing after Hillsdale. While Hillsdale was perhaps the best team that season according to eye-tests and power ratings, they finished a disappointing 6th at CI and 3rd at SCQANIT that season. Despite those finishes, they again placed 2nd at AACS this time to Mukwonago Wisconsin. The season would conclude with Hillsdale ranked 3rd behind Mukwonago (WI) and Heritage Mission (NY).

Entering his senior season (2012-2013), Bobby was not only widely considered the most dominant quizzer in the nation but also the face of the game. If Bible Quiz had a video game, he’d have been the cover quizzer on the 2013 edition. While there were several other great quizzers at the time, Bobby was the most experienced at a high-level, the most dominant, and the most outgoing. That year’s material was the book of Acts. The largest book in the quiz cycle by word count and tied with the Gospel of Matthew for chapter count. Bobby seemed to have every word of it memorized like the back of his hand.

Bobby led the team, his sister Cat was among the strongest #2 quizzers in the country, and a combination of Sarah and Dillon could pull down toss ups and free questions when needed. They won the Athens New Year’s Classic without taking a low. Then they won the Colorado Invitational in February, not taking a low until the championship. Instead of falling off at the end, Hillsdale never let off the gas, winning both SCQANIT and AACS. Bobby went out a champion, dominating that season, and beating many good teams in the process. This capped off one of the greatest single season performances ever and a great individual career.

Perhaps the most individually dynamic quizzer of the 2010s, Bobby truly felt unstoppable. The 2013 Hillsdale team he led seemed to always grab leads very early in the quiz off of Bobby’s answers and then maintain or expand those leads as the competition tried to crawl back. From the many sources I have consulted who were involved long before I was, Bobby is always in the conversation for the greatest quizzer of all time.

So that is Bobby’s quiz career in a nutshell, but what made him great? It is difficult to describe or quantify his core competencies in a satisfactory manner without mentioning his speed, aggression, and knowledge of the material.
If Bobby was in the quiz, he likely wouldn’t be there long and getting his five or six felt almost like a guarantee for Hillsdale and even more of a guarantee to his competition. He almost had a “whisperer” ability to anticipate the next words of the question and inevitably pull it down. While he was error-prone, he usually knew “when to park it”, stepping back so as not dig a hole deeper for his team. He rarely made an error on a gimme question when he had sufficient information to answer it.

To get a better and far more eloquent explanation of just how dynamic Bobby was, I encourage you to read this article written by David Poston in February 2013 following Hillsdale’s Colorado Invitational victory. This article can be read at the link here: Top Quizzers

With a spirit of gratitude and humility, Bobby credits any level of success he had to the people who invested in him. His parents, church family, and sister Cat were especially helpful in listening to him quote, increasing his sharp knowledge of the Text. The Barbers poured countless hours into him traveling, practicing, coaching, and teaching him not only to memorize the Scriptures but to apply them in his daily life.

Bobby says Bible Quizzing helped him develop kindness, friendliness, and composure. These traits would especially help him post-high school with public speaking and preaching. He also credits Bible Quizzing with giving him enduring friendships that have changed the course of his life. It is through a Bible Quiz connection that he met his wife and one of his closest friends.

More than anything, the Scriptures themselves helped Bobby. According to Bobby, “Having God’s Word hid in my heart during extremely formative years of my life built the arsenal of Scriptures for the Holy Spirit to bring to my mind in moments of fear, temptation, pride, selfishness, and desperate need for His power.” This is just another example of long-term benefits of Bible Quizzing that may not be manifested while they are on the quiz pads at a particular tournament.

When asked what advice he would give to his younger self or a current quizzer, Bobby said he would have a plan in place to prevent the memorized Passages fading from his memory. Just quoting through that material somewhat occasionally can help keep it fresh and more likely to be recalled in the situations we encounter. He believes that quizzers are given a gift of memorizing and should “stir up that gift”. He hopes quizzers today will take what they have learned and let it penetrate their hearts and affect the way their live their lives as they pursue a deeper growing relationship with the Lord.

Bobby now lives in the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area with his wife and five children. Though it has been more than a decade since he was actively on the quiz pads, Bobby’s legacy of dominance lives on and his high performance and godly attitude serve as an example for quizzers today. It is only most appropriate that we welcome Bobby Smith to the Bible Quizzer Hall of Fame!