The New York Yankees outscored the Chicago Cubs 37-19 across four games in the 1932 World Series and never trailed. Not once. The sweep gave the franchise its fourth championship, validated a 107-47 regular season, and handed Joe McCarthy the sweetest revenge a manager has ever tasted -- a four-game demolition of the team that had fired him two years earlier.
The Feud
The bad blood started before Game 1. Mark Koenig, a former Yankee shortstop, had joined the Cubs midseason and helped them win the National League pennant. When it came time to divide the World Series pool, his teammates voted him a half-share -- roughly $2,500 instead of the full $5,000. The Yankees, who'd played alongside Koenig during championship runs in 1927 and 1928, thought it was cheap. Babe Ruth told the press the Cubs were "cheapskates." The Cubs told Ruth plenty of things that couldn't be printed in a family newspaper.
McCarthy added fuel by simply existing. He'd managed the Cubs from 1926 to 1930, won the '29 NL pennant, and still got dismissed after a slow start the following year. He didn't talk about it publicly (McCarthy rarely talked about anything publicly), but the men who knew him understood what this series meant. Beating Chicago wasn't just about another title. It was personal.
Game by Game
Game 1 -- September 28, Yankee Stadium: Yankees 12, Cubs 6
The Yankees announced their intentions in the first game. Twelve runs. The offense battered Cubs pitching from the early innings, and the 12-6 final score flattered Chicago. The message was clear: the Cubs didn't have enough arms to contain this lineup.
Game 2 -- September 29, Yankee Stadium: Yankees 5, Cubs 2
A tighter game, but the result was the same. The Yankees controlled the action, and Lefty Gomez pitched with the kind of composure that would define his World Series career (he'd finish his postseason run 6-0 in Series starts). The Cubs went to Chicago down 2-0, needing to win four of the next five. They wouldn't win any of them.
Game 3 -- October 1, Wrigley Field: Yankees 7, Cubs 5
The game everybody remembers. The Wrigley Field crowd was hostile -- fans and players directing sustained abuse at Ruth and his wife from the moment the Yankees arrived. In the fifth inning, with the game tied 4-4, Ruth made his famous pointing gesture before launching a Charlie Root pitch over the center field wall. Lou Gehrig homered on the very next pitch. The Yankees took a 3-0 series lead, and the Called Shot entered baseball's permanent mythology.
Game 4 -- October 2, Wrigley Field: Yankees 13, Cubs 6
The Yankees closed it out with another offensive explosion. Thirteen runs made the final game feel like batting practice (which, for this lineup, it practically was). The sweep was complete. The combined 37-19 margin across four games told the story of a mismatch the Cubs never had the pitching to overcome.
| Series Result | Yankees 4, Cubs 0 |
| Combined Score | Yankees 37, Cubs 19 |
| Game 1 | Yankees 12, Cubs 6 |
| Game 2 | Yankees 5, Cubs 2 |
| Game 3 | Yankees 7, Cubs 5 |
| Game 4 | Yankees 13, Cubs 6 |
Gehrig's Series
Ruth's Called Shot defined the '32 World Series in public memory. The numbers told a different story. Gehrig was the dominant player across all four games -- not in one dramatic moment, but in the relentless, grinding way that defined his entire career.
His line across the sweep: .529 batting average, 3 home runs, 8 RBI. He reached base in seemingly every plate appearance, drove in runs in bunches, and gave the pitching staff a cushion that made every game feel manageable by the middle innings. Had an official World Series MVP award existed in 1932 (it didn't start until 1955), Gehrig would've won it in a landslide.
Gehrig was the best player on the field in every game. But you know how it is with Lou -- he does everything right and someone else gets the headline.
The dynamic was familiar. Ruth provided the theater -- the Called Shot, the heckling wars, the personality that filled every room he entered. Gehrig provided the production. The 1932 World Series was their partnership distilled to its essence: mythology and substance, performing side by side, with mythology getting the ink.
McCarthy's Moment
The sweep completed McCarthy's revenge arc in the most satisfying way possible. He hadn't just beaten the Cubs -- he'd humiliated them, outscoring them by 18 runs across four games with a roster that made Chicago's lineup look like it belonged in a different league. McCarthy would go on to manage the Yankees for 16 seasons and win seven World Series titles (the most by any manager in franchise history). The 1932 championship was the first, and the one that meant the most.
Game 1
Yankees 12, Cubs 6 at Yankee Stadium. The offense sets the tone with a lopsided opening-game win.
Game 2
Yankees 5, Cubs 2 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees take a 2-0 series lead to Chicago.
Game 3 -- The Called Shot
Yankees 7, Cubs 5 at Wrigley Field. Ruth's pointing gesture and home run off Charlie Root becomes baseball's most iconic moment.
Game 4 -- Sweep Complete
Yankees 13, Cubs 6 at Wrigley Field. The Yankees complete the four-game sweep, outscoring the Cubs 37-19 overall.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the result of the 1932 World Series?
The Yankees swept the Chicago Cubs in four games, winning 12-6, 5-2, 7-5, and 13-6. The combined score was 37-19 in favor of the Yankees. The series is best remembered for Babe Ruth's "Called Shot" home run in Game 3, but Lou Gehrig was the dominant performer, batting .529 with 3 home runs and 8 RBI.
Who was the MVP of the 1932 World Series?
No official World Series MVP award existed in 1932 (the award began in 1955), but Lou Gehrig was the series' best player by a wide margin. He batted .529 with 3 home runs and 8 RBI across four games. Babe Ruth's Called Shot in Game 3 dominated the headlines, but Gehrig's sustained production drove the sweep.
Why were the Yankees and Cubs fighting in the 1932 World Series?
The hostility stemmed from the Cubs voting former Yankee Mark Koenig only a half-share of their World Series pool, despite Koenig helping them win the NL pennant after joining midseason. Ruth publicly called the Cubs "cheapskates," which escalated into fierce bench-jockeying. Manager Joe McCarthy's firing by the Cubs in 1930 added personal stakes to every exchange.