Starter for Ten

In the early days there
Was not much competition;
The pub quiz had not been
Invented, neither had
Opportunity Knocked;
The news was read by
Chaps in top hats sitting in
Leather armchairs;
One day in 1963
This comfortable world was
Turned upside down by a
Brash new programme
Hosted by a hatless Adonis
Called Bamber Gascgoine;
His name when translated
From Old French means
Goatherd from Gascony;
His son was to find fame
As a participant in the new
Pastime of Association Football;
Soon the nation was scratching
Its head over questions such as
Who was the father of Oedipus ?
How many words do Eskimos have
For tree ?
Recite any two of Horace's odes
Which team will England beat in 1966
To win the World Cup ?
Translate Old Uncle Tom Cobbley
Into Etruscan
Natural philosophers believe that
Phlogiston is found in what ?
How should an excess of black bile
Be removed from the body ?
The participants were two teams
Of four wearing college scarves
And smoking pipes,
The captain being required
To sport a moustache,
Although this rule was
Relaxed when women were
Allowed to participate for the
First time in 1976;
The initial series was won
Not by an ancient Oxford
College but by Leicester
University who knew the
Answer to the tie-breaker
"How many farthings in a guinea ?"
They were presented with an engraved
Enigma machine by Stanley Baldwin