September 30, 1936. The Polo Grounds. The New York Yankees and the New York Giants, playing a World Series against each other for the first time since 1923 -- a Subway Series, back when the phrase meant something because both teams actually shared the same city and the same subway lines. The 1936 Yankees had won 102 games, scored 1,065 runs, and finished 19.5 games ahead of Detroit. The Giants had Carl Hubbell and his screwball. For one game, Hubbell was enough. After that, the Yankees buried them.
Game 1: Hubbell's Screwball
Hubbell was the best pitcher in the National League, and he proved it in the opener. His screwball -- a pitch that broke the opposite direction of every other breaking ball in baseball -- baffled the Yankees' lineup. He allowed seven hits but just one run, a George Selkirk home run that dented the margin but didn't change the outcome. Giants 6, Yankees 1.
The loss stung, but Joe McCarthy's response was instructive. He didn't panic. He didn't tinker with the lineup. He let the offense do what the offense had done all season -- show up and overwhelm.
Game 2: The 18-Run Statement
What the Yankees did in Game 2 still ranks among the most excessive performances in October history. They scored 18 runs. The Giants scored 4. The 14-run margin set a World Series record for largest victory. The 18 runs set a record for most scored by one team in a single Fall Classic game.
Tony Lazzeri -- the 33-year-old second baseman in what would prove to be his final World Series -- hit a grand slam off Dick Coffman that pushed the lead to 9-1 and turned a comfortable win into a demolition. Lazzeri's blast was only the second grand slam in World Series history (Elmer Smith had hit the first in the 1920 Series). The crowd at the Polo Grounds watched the Yankees bat around, then bat around again, until the scoreboard looked like a football game.
| Series Result | Yankees win, 4 games to 2 |
| Game 2 Score | Yankees 18, Giants 4 (WS record margin) |
| Series MVP (unofficial) | Jake Powell (.455, 10 hits, 5 RBI) |
| Lazzeri Grand Slam | 2nd in World Series history |
| DiMaggio's Average | .346 (9 hits in 6 games) |
The game was a message. Hubbell could shut them down once. Nobody could shut them down twice. The Yankees had too many hitters, too much depth, and too little patience for being embarrassed.
Games 3 Through 5: Grinding It Out
Game 3 was the kind of tight, low-scoring affair that makes October baseball memorable. The Yankees won 2-1 -- a result that required pitching, defense, and just enough offense to hold up. After the fireworks of Game 2, the clinched-jaw victory in Game 3 showed the other side of McCarthy's team.
Game 4 followed the same script. Yankees 5, Giants 2. Gehrig and DiMaggio drove the offense, and the pitching staff kept the Giants' bats quiet. The Yankees led the Series three games to one.
The Giants fought back in Game 5, winning 5-4 to avoid elimination. It was a competitive effort -- the kind of performance that reminded everyone the Giants had won 91 games during the regular season and hadn't arrived in October to roll over. But it only delayed the inevitable by one day.
Game 6: The Clincher
The Yankees closed it out on October 6 with a 13-5 victory at the Polo Grounds. The game was never in doubt after the early innings, and the final score reflected what the entire Series had shown: the Yankees' offense was simply too deep, too relentless, and too talented for the Giants to contain across a seven-game format.
Jake Powell -- a journeyman outfielder who'd been acquired from Washington midseason -- was the surprise star of the Series. He hit .455 with 10 hits, 8 runs scored, and 5 RBI. Powell wasn't a household name before October and wouldn't become one after (his post-baseball life was troubled), but for six games in the fall of 1936, he was the best hitter on either roster.
Game 1: Hubbell Dominates
Carl Hubbell's screwball shuts down the Yankees, 6-1. Selkirk's solo homer accounts for the only run.
Game 2: The 18-4 Explosion
The Yankees score 18 runs -- a World Series single-game record. Lazzeri hits the second grand slam in Series history.
Games 3-5
The Yankees win Games 3 (2-1) and 4 (5-2) before the Giants take Game 5 (5-4) to force a sixth game.
Game 6: Yankees Clinch
The Yankees win 13-5 to capture their fifth World Championship in six games. Jake Powell finishes the Series hitting .455.
First Without Ruth, First With DiMaggio
The 1936 World Series carried weight beyond the box scores. It was the Yankees' first Fall Classic without Babe Ruth, who'd been released after the 1934 season. The franchise had missed the Series entirely in 1935, and the question of whether the Yankees could win October without the Babe hung over the organization like a cloud.
DiMaggio answered it at 21 years old. He batted .346 in the Series -- 9 hits in 6 games -- and showed none of the nerves that typically sabotage rookies in October. This was the first of what would become 10 World Series appearances in his 13-year career. He'd win nine of them.
That lineup doesn't have a soft spot. We pitched around one hitter and the next one beat us. You can't do that for six games.
The dynasty that started with this Series would produce three more consecutive championships -- 1937, 1938, and 1939 -- with a combined October record of 16-3. The 1936 World Series was just the opening act. But that 18-4 Game 2 set the tone for everything that followed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the score of the 1936 World Series?
The Yankees beat the Giants four games to two. Game scores: Game 1 -- Giants 6, Yankees 1; Game 2 -- Yankees 18, Giants 4; Game 3 -- Yankees 2, Giants 1; Game 4 -- Yankees 5, Giants 2; Game 5 -- Giants 5, Yankees 4; Game 6 -- Yankees 13, Giants 5.
Was the 1936 World Series a Subway Series?
Yes. The 1936 World Series between the Yankees and the New York Giants was a Subway Series -- the first since 1923, when the Yankees had won their inaugural championship. All six games were played in New York, split between Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds.
Who hit a grand slam in the 1936 World Series?
Tony Lazzeri hit a grand slam off Giants pitcher Dick Coffman in Game 2 of the 1936 World Series. It was only the second grand slam in World Series history -- Elmer Smith of the Cleveland Indians had hit the first in the 1920 World Series. Lazzeri's slam was part of the Yankees' 18-4 blowout victory.