October 5, 1938. Wrigley Field, Chicago. The Cubs had won the National League pennant and brought Dizzy Dean -- once the most dominant pitcher in baseball -- to face the defending champions. The New York Yankees had won two straight World Series and weren't interested in making it competitive. They swept the Cubs in four games, outscored them 22-9, and became the first team in modern baseball history to win three consecutive championships. The whole thing took five days.
A Broken Weapon
The Cubs' best chance at slowing the Yankees died before the Series started. Dean had hurt his arm in the 1937 All-Star Game -- a toe injury changed his delivery, which wrecked his shoulder -- and by October 1938 he was pitching on memory and guts. He could still get hitters out with off-speed stuff, but the fastball that had made him a 30-game winner was gone. The Yankees knew it. Everyone in both dugouts knew it.
Chicago's roster had solid players -- Stan Hack, Billy Herman, Phil Cavarretta -- but nobody who matched the firepower waiting on the other side. DiMaggio, Gehrig, Dickey, Joe Gordon, Tommy Henrich. Five hitters with 90 or more RBI during the regular season. The pitching matchup was just as lopsided. The Cubs were bringing knives to a cannon fight.
Game 1: Ruffing Sets the Tone
Red Ruffing took the mound at Wrigley and did what aces do in October -- he finished what he started. A complete game, eight hits scattered, just one run allowed. The Yankees won 3-1. It wasn't flashy. It didn't need to be. Ruffing was methodical, working out of trouble when he needed to and keeping Cubs rallies from ever building momentum. The message was clear before the first game was over: this wasn't going to be a Series. It was going to be a procession.
Game 2: Dean's Last Stand
Game 2 was the closest thing to drama the Series produced. Dean started for the Cubs and held the Yankees to just three runs through seven innings, pitching with the craftiness of a man who'd forgotten more about pitching than most guys ever learned. For seven innings, it almost looked like Chicago might steal one.
Then Frank Crosetti hit a two-run homer off Dean in the eighth inning, and the dam broke. DiMaggio followed with a two-run blast in the ninth. Final score: 6-3 Yankees, and Lefty Gomez picked up the win. Dean had given the Cubs everything he had left. It wasn't enough. The Series shifted to New York with the Yankees up 2-0, and the Cubs had to know what was coming.
Game 3: Gordon's Moment
Monte Pearson took the mound at Yankee Stadium and delivered something close to a masterpiece -- a complete game, five hits allowed, nine strikeouts. The Cubs managed just two runs (one earned). Gordon broke a scoreless tie in the fifth with a solo home run off Clay Bryant, and the rookie wasn't done -- he added a two-run single in the sixth to push the lead to 4-1. The Yankees won 5-2, and Pearson had quietly thrown the best game of the Series.
Gordon's performance was fitting. The 23-year-old had replaced Tony Lazzeri at second base and spent the entire 1938 season proving he belonged. October was just the final exam.
Game 4: Ruffing Closes the Door
Ruffing came back on three days' rest and threw another complete game. The man simply refused to leave the mound. The Yankees won 8-3, and the sweep was complete -- three consecutive World Series titles, something no team in the modern era had accomplished.
Ruffing's Series line was staggering by any standard: two starts, two complete games, two wins. No official MVP award existed yet (that didn't begin until 1955), but if it had, the vote wouldn't have taken long.
| Series Result | Yankees sweep Cubs, 4-0 |
| Game 1 (Oct. 5, Wrigley) | Yankees 3, Cubs 1 -- Ruffing CG |
| Game 2 (Oct. 6, Wrigley) | Yankees 6, Cubs 3 -- Gomez W |
| Game 3 (Oct. 8, YS) | Yankees 5, Cubs 2 -- Pearson CG, 9 K |
| Game 4 (Oct. 9, YS) | Yankees 8, Cubs 3 -- Ruffing CG |
| Cubs Total Runs | 9 in 4 games |
| Cubs Batting Average | .243 |
| Ruffing's Series Line | 2-0, 2 complete games |
The Three-Peat
The sweep completed a stretch of dominance that's hard to wrap your head around. Since 1936, the Yankees had won three straight championships -- beating the Giants in '36 (4-2), the Giants again in '37 (4-1), and now the Cubs in '38 (4-0). They'd also swept four of their last six Fall Classics, dating back to 1927. The franchise wasn't just winning titles. It was collecting them, stacking them like a kid hoarding baseball cards.
The core of the dynasty -- DiMaggio, Gehrig, Dickey, Ruffing, Gomez -- were all future Hall of Famers, and McCarthy was managing them with the precision of a man who never second-guessed himself (because he never had to). The 1938 sweep was the crescendo. What came next -- Gehrig's diagnosis, the war, the scattering of the roster -- would end this particular run. But for five days in October, the Yankees were untouchable.
I couldn't throw hard enough to break a pane of glass, but I had those Yankees swingin' for a while.
Game 1: Ruffing Dominates
Red Ruffing scatters eight hits in a complete-game 3-1 victory at Wrigley Field, setting the tone for the Series.
Game 2: Dean's Last Effort
Dizzy Dean holds the Yankees in check for seven innings before Crosetti's two-run homer in the eighth and DiMaggio's ninth-inning blast break it open. Yankees win 6-3.
Game 3: Pearson and Gordon Shine
Monte Pearson throws a complete game with nine strikeouts. Joe Gordon homers and drives in three runs. Yankees win 5-2 at Yankee Stadium.
Game 4: Sweep Complete
Ruffing returns on three days' rest and delivers another complete game. Yankees win 8-3, completing the three-peat -- the first in modern baseball history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the result of the 1938 World Series?
The Yankees swept the Chicago Cubs 4-0 in the 1938 World Series. The game scores were 3-1, 6-3, 5-2, and 8-3. Red Ruffing won Games 1 and 4 with complete-game performances. The sweep gave the Yankees their third consecutive championship -- the first three-peat in modern baseball history.
Who was the MVP of the 1938 World Series?
No official World Series MVP was awarded in 1938 -- the practice didn't begin until 1955. Red Ruffing would have been the overwhelming choice, having won two games with two complete-game performances on three days' rest. He allowed just four runs across his two starts.
Did the 1938 Yankees set a record for consecutive World Series wins?
Yes. The 1938 championship gave the Yankees three consecutive World Series titles (1936, 1937, 1938) -- the first time any team in modern baseball history had accomplished that feat. They'd go on to win a fourth straight in 1939, extending the record to four consecutive championships.