Ken Jennings: Throwback to end of 'Jeopardy!' champion's 74-game winning streak in 2004

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Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Ken Jennings: Throwback to end of 'Jeopardy!' champ's 74-game winning streak in 2004
In 2004, Jennings ended his record 74-game winning streak when faced with a clue that finally tripped up.

It's official: Ken Jennings is the greatest "Jeopardy!" player of all time. Yet now is a good reminder that there was once a time when a metaphorical David brought down this game show Goliath.

In 2004, Jennings ended his record 74-game winning streak when faced with a clue that finally tripped up: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only 4 months a year."

Jennings answered with "What is FedEx?" but the correct answer was H&R Block.

RELATED: 1990 video shows Alex Trebek explain what it's like behind the scenes of 'Jeopardy!'

Nancy Zerg, a real estate agent from California, was the contestant who dethroned Jennings and said she refused to be intimidated.

"I'd watch the show and say, 'I think I can take him. I think I can take him.' I was kind of like the Little Engine That Could," she said after her win.

In the end, Jennings took home over $2.5 million.

"When the streak finally ended, there was sort of conflicting emotions," Jennings said in a 2004 interview. "On the one hand, I was relieved to finally know how the story came out, and on the other hand, I was a little bit sad 'cause it's fun to play 'Jeopardy!'"