Lou Gehrig hit 49 home runs in 1936. He was 33 years old. He led the American League in home runs and runs scored, drove in 152, batted .354, and played every single game -- the consecutive games streak pushing past 1,800 without interruption. The American League gave him the MVP award, which was the correct decision and also the obvious one. At an age when most players start shopping for retirement homes, the Iron Horse matched the best numbers he'd ever posted and carried the most prolific offense in modern baseball history.
The Numbers
| Home Runs | 49 (led AL) |
| RBI | 152 |
| Batting Average | .354 |
| Runs Scored | 167 (led AL) |
| OBP | .478 |
| SLG | .696 |
| Games Played | 155 (every game) |
The 49 home runs tied his own career high from 1934. At 33, he wasn't declining -- he was producing at exactly the same level he'd reached in his prime. The 152 RBI made him one of five Yankees that season to clear 100, but Gehrig's total dwarfed the others. DiMaggio drove in 125, which is an extraordinary number for a rookie and also 27 fewer than Gehrig.
The .354 average and .478 on-base percentage told the same story from a different angle. Gehrig didn't just hit for power. He controlled the strike zone with a patience and discipline that made him nearly impossible to retire. His .696 slugging percentage was the highest in the American League. Add it up and you get a hitter who was simultaneously the league's best power threat, its most patient eye at the plate, and its most productive run creator.
Still the Iron Horse
The consecutive games streak was 1,808 games and counting by the end of 1936 (he wouldn't stop until 2,130 in 1939). Gehrig hadn't missed a game since June 2, 1925 -- eleven years earlier, when Calvin Coolidge was president and Ruth was still the biggest name in sports.
Playing every game at age 33 wasn't just durability. It was stubbornness, commitment, and a deep-rooted belief that if your name was in the lineup, you played. There were no rest days for Gehrig. No load management. No "scheduled off-days" to keep the legs fresh for October. He played 155 games in 1936, hit 49 home runs, and never once told McCarthy he needed a day off (McCarthy, for his part, never offered one).
Sharing the Spotlight -- Again
Gehrig had spent his entire career in someone else's shadow. From 1920 to 1934, that shadow belonged to Babe Ruth -- the most famous athlete in America, the man who built Yankee Stadium, the gravitational center of the franchise. Gehrig hit behind Ruth for over a decade, produced numbers that would've made him the biggest story on any other team, and accepted his role as the quiet partner without complaint.
Ruth left after 1934. For one season -- 1935 -- Gehrig was the unquestioned star of the Yankees. Then DiMaggio showed up.
The 21-year-old rookie from San Francisco arrived with a $75,000 price tag, a beautiful swing, and the kind of effortless cool that attracted cameras. DiMaggio was the story of 1936 -- the debut, the 29 home runs, the .323 average, the triples, the grace in center field. The press couldn't get enough of him.
Gehrig responded the way he always responded to being overlooked. He hit 49 home runs and won the MVP. If the spotlight wouldn't find him, the numbers would speak for themselves. They always had.
The MVP
The 1936 MVP was Gehrig's second (his first came in 1927, when he drove in 175 runs but Ruth's 60 home runs stole every headline). The award confirmed what the box scores already showed: despite DiMaggio's arrival, despite the five 100-RBI hitters, despite the World Series title, the most valuable player on the 1936 Yankees was the 33-year-old first baseman who showed up every day and refused to slow down.
He just went out and did his job every day. He didn't ask for anything. He didn't need to be patted on the back. He just played.
The Clock Nobody Heard
The 1936 season looks different in hindsight. Three years later, Gehrig would pull himself from the lineup on May 2, 1939, his body failing in ways he couldn't explain and his doctors couldn't yet diagnose. ALS -- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that would bear his name -- was almost certainly present in some early form during those final brilliant seasons.
His numbers tell the story of a man racing a clock he didn't know existed:
- 1936: .354, 49 HR, 152 RBI -- the MVP, the peak
- 1937: .351, 37 HR, 159 RBI -- still elite, still every day
- 1938: .295, 29 HR, 114 RBI -- a visible decline
- 1939: .143 in 8 games before he couldn't go on
The Streak Begins
Gehrig pinch-hits for Pee Wee Wanninger and starts a consecutive games streak that will reach 2,130.
The MVP Campaign
Gehrig hits 49 home runs, drives in 152, bats .354, and wins the AL MVP at age 33. He plays every game.
World Series Champion
The Yankees beat the Giants in six games. Gehrig and the dynasty's four-year run begin.
The Streak Ends
Gehrig removes himself from the lineup after 2,130 consecutive games. He's diagnosed with ALS weeks later.
The Farewell
Gehrig delivers his famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium: "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."
Gehrig hit .354 with 49 home runs at age 33, won the MVP, played 155 games without a day off, and never once mentioned that he was tired. The Iron Horse didn't bend. He didn't complain. He just produced -- and when the disease finally came for him, the cruelty of it was that a body that had never once failed him in 2,130 consecutive games betrayed him completely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Lou Gehrig win the MVP in 1936?
Yes. Gehrig won the American League MVP award for the 1936 season after hitting .354 with 49 home runs (leading the AL) and 152 RBI. It was his second career MVP -- his first came in 1927 when he drove in 175 runs. He played all 155 games, continuing his consecutive games streak.
How many home runs did Lou Gehrig hit in 1936?
Gehrig hit 49 home runs in 1936, leading the American League. The total tied his own career high, set in 1934. He was 33 years old at the time -- one of the most productive age-33 seasons any hitter has ever produced. He also led the league in runs scored with 167.
Was Lou Gehrig still playing every day in 1936?
Yes. Gehrig played all 155 games in 1936, extending his consecutive games streak to over 1,800. He hadn't missed a game since June 2, 1925. The streak would continue until May 2, 1939, when he removed himself from the lineup after 2,130 consecutive games -- a record that stood for 56 years until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it in 1995.