Major League Baseball Season Recap 1932

World Series – New York Yankees AL over Chicago Cubs NL 4 games to 0

Awards –
Major League Cy Young Award Cy Young Award National League Cy Young Award American League
MVP Awards – NL Chuck Klein AL Jimmie Foxx

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January 4, 1932

Casey Stengel returns from exile in the minor leagues to become coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

January 4, 1932

The Great Depression deepens, and American League costs are cut by dropping an umpire from the AL staff of 11.

January 11, 1932

Bill Terry rejects a contract offer from the New York Giants

January 14, 1932

Babe Ruth rejects a Yankees offer of $70,000

January 23, 1932

Brooklyn Dodgers acquire future Hall of Fame outfielder Hack Wilson

January 26, 1932

Chicago Cubs owner William Wrigley dies at the age of 70

February 4, 1932

Pittsburgh Pirates sold infielder George Grantham to the Cincinnati Reds

February 8, 1932

Waite Hoyt is released by the Philadelphia Athletics and will sign with the Brooklyn Dodgers

February 12, 1932

George Weiss joins the front office of the New York Yankees

March 3, 1932

In Century, Florida, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ed Morris dies at age 32 of knife wounds inflicted in a fight at a party given in his honor

March 14, 1932

Cincinnati Reds acquire Ernie Lombardi, Babe Herman, Wally Gilbert from the Brooklyn Dodger

March 14, 1932

Spring training 1932 Babe Ruth

March 16, 1932

1932 – In St. Petersburg training camp, Babe Ruth signs a one-year contract for $75,000 and a percentage of the exhibition gate. Legend has it the Bambino signed a blank contract with the amount filled in later by New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert.

April 6, 1932

The Albuquerque Dons (Class D Arizona-Texas League) open the season with a 43 – 15 win over the El Paso Texans.

April 17, 1932

New York Giants first baseman Bill Terry ties a National League record with 21 putouts as the Giants beat the Boston Braves, 5 – 0, behind Hal Schumacher’s two-hit shutout.

April 20, 1932

The New York Yankees draw the largest paid attendance, 55,452, for any Yankee Stadium opener

April 21, 1932

Mickey Cochrane 9th inning slam leads A’s over Yankees

April 27, 1932

Cardinal manager Gabby Street is fined for violating the National League policy which prohibits talking to spectators. The Redbird skipper’s nickname suggests he might be a chatterbox, but he insists the moniker stems his overuse of the word Gabby, a term used in the south when addressing a black male whose name is unknown.

May 11, 1932

Wild Bill Hallahan uncorks three wild pitches in one inning

May 11, 1932

Eighth-grader Joe Schultz Jr. singles, steals second base and third base, and scores a run as a pinch-hitter in a Texas League game. The fourteen-year old, who is the son of former big leaguer Joe (Germany) Schultz, will become a catcher and manager in the major leagues.

May 12, 1932

Carey Selph of the Chicago White Sox collects his ninth strikeout of the season. But it won’t happen again. Selph will go another 89 games without striking out, to set a major league record, hitting .283 in 396 at-bats in his second and last season. Selph’s record will last until 1958, when Nellie Fox sets a new mark with 98 consecutive games whitout striking out.

May 16, 1932

The Yankees record their fourth straight shutout to equal the record set by Cleveland and Boston in 1903 and 1906 respectively. Johnny Allen, George Pipgras, Red Ruffingand Lefty Gomez were the hurlers. Lefty stops Cleveland on five hits to win, 8 – 0, New York’s fifth shutout in seven games.

May 20, 1932

Paul Waner strokes four doubles in one game. The future Hall of Fame outfielder’s quartet of two-baggers enables the Pirates to beat the Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park, 5-0.

May 21, 1932

Before 60,000 at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers roll over Washington, 14 – 2 and 8 – 0. Washington collects just 11 hits off Herb Pennock and Johnny Allen. In the opener, Babe Ruth homers in the 5th off Lloyd Brown and he and Lou Gehrig connect in the 6th off Frank Ragland. Tony Lazzeri is 6 for 7 on the afternoon, including a home run, two doubles and a triple.

May 24, 1932

Lefty Gomez allows 3 hits and strikes out 13 as the Yankees stop the A’s‚ 3 – 1.

May 26, 1932

5/26/1932 – The Dodgers had trouble with their lineup in a game at the Polo Grounds. The official sheet had George Kelly batting seventh and Al Lopez eighth. The latter batted one spot early but struck out to end the second inning. Kelly then started the third inning out of turn but also struck out. Then pitcher Watty Clark made an out as an out of turn batter. The second trip through the lineup the three batsmen strode to the plate in the same incorrect order. This time Kelly homered to left but no protest was made by the Giants. With two out in the sixth inning after Tony Cuccinello doubled and Glenn Wright was passed, Lopez singled to center to score Cuccinello with Wright thrown out trying for third. The McGrawmen protested to umpire Cy Rigler. He called Kelly out and wiped the run off the board. The Giants tied the score in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings. Brooklyn won the game in twelve innings, 3-2 when Lopez scored the winning run on Johnny Frederick’s base hit.

May 29, 1932

The Red Sox split a pair with the visiting A’s‚ winning, 6 – 4, before losing, 3 – 0. It is the Sox’s last Sunday game at Braves Field. With the lifting of the ban against playing Sunday ball at Fenway Park (because of a nearby church)‚ the Sox will play a Sunday game there July 3rd.

May 30, 1932

In a pregame ceremony, the Yankees dedicate a plaque in memory of skipper Miller Huggins. Their former manager, who died near the end of last season, would be delighted with today’s doubleheader sweep of the Red Sox, 7-5 and 13-3.

June 1, 1932

6/1/1932: The Cardinals beat the Cubs, 1-0, at Wrigley Field in a seven-inning, rain-shortened game. Pepper Martin and Eddie Delker both homered in the top of the eighth inning but lost them when the game was called and the score reverted to the seventh inning. Delker was 0 for his last 18 at the time of the homer and had never slugged a four-bagger in the majors at the time.

June 2, 1932

1932 – In minor league action, Buzz Arlett hits four consecutive home runs, leading the the Baltimore Orioles to a 14 – 13 victory over the Reading Keystones.

June 3, 1932

New York Giants manager John McGraw resigns due to ill health

June 3, 1932

Lou Gehrig becomes first player to hit 4 homeruns in a game

June 4, 1932

The Phillies get Cardinals problem P Flint Rhem.

June 4, 1932

With new manager Bill Terry at the helm‚ the Giants sweep the Phils‚ 10 – 4 and 6 – 4‚ to move out of last place in the National League.

June 7, 1932

1932 – Pitcher Jack Quinn, at age 47, becomes the oldest player in major league history to have an extra-base hit (a double) as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 9 – 2. Julio Franco will break the record over 70 years later.

June 11, 1932

1932 – The White Sox sell pitcher Tommy Thomas to the Washington Senators.

June 20, 1932

Doc Cramer of the A’s collects six hits in consecutive times at bats in the same game

June 22, 1932

The National League finally approves the use of uniform numbers to identify players.

June 23, 1932

Goose Goslin of the St. Louis Browns hits three home runs in a game for the third time.

June 23, 1932

Lou Gehrig plays his 1,103rd successive game in a New York uniform, equaling Joe Sewell’s record with one team (Cleveland).

June 23, 1932

Waite Hoyt signs with the Giants.

July 3, 1932

With a Boston law that prohibited games from being played within 1000 feet of a church on Sundays now rescinded, the first Sunday game is played at Fenway Park with the Red Sox dropping a 13-2 decision. The team played its Sunday games at Braves Field on Commonwealth Avenue until the law was changed, having played their first home contest on the Christian day of worship on April 28, 1929.

July 4, 1932

Buzz Arlett slugs four homers in one game for the second time in the season

July 4, 1932

Dugdale Park in Seattle burns down after a 4th of July celebration. The cause is arson. Sicks Stadium will be built on the site and open in 1938.

July 4, 1932

Bill Dickey punches and breaks Carl Reynolds’s jaw

July 6, 1932

Billy Jurges is shot twice in scuffle with girlfriend

July 9, 1932

Ben Chapman hits three home runs at Yankee Stadium

July 10, 1932

Philadelphia A’s and Cleveland Indians score 35 runs in an 18-inning game

July 15, 1932

Satchel Paige pitches the first no-hitter in Greenlee Field as the Pittsburgh Crawfords defeat the New York Black Yankees, 6 – 0.

July 16, 1932

Tommy Thomas collects his third victory in three days, all against the same team, when the Senators rout St. Louis at Griffith Stadium, 11-0. The 32 year-old right-hander, who will defeat the Browns a total of seven times this season, picked up two of three wins of the streak as a reliever, prior to going the distance in today’s contest.

July 18, 1932

1932 – Washington 3B Ossie Bluege equals the American League record with five walks in the first game of a doubleheader won by Detroit, 8 – 6 and 2 – 1.

July 22, 1932

1932 – Billy Jurges, shot on July 6th, returns to the Cubs lineup.

July 22, 1932

Mickey Cochrane hits for the cycle

July 23, 1932

1932 – Cleveland P Wes Ferrell makes 10 assists in a 12-inning game, but loses to the White Sox, 6 – 5. The record in both leagues is 12.

July 31, 1932

In front of a major league record crowd of 80,184, the Indians play their first game at Lakefront Stadium, losing to Philadelphia and Lefty Grove, 1-0.

August 1, 1932

The Indians drop another 1 – 0 game to the A’s at Municipal Stadium, as Rube Walberg beats Wes Ferrell.

August 1, 1932

8/1/1932 – The Yankees won the game at Detroit 6-3 behind the hitting of Lou Gehrig. However, Tigers Manager, Bucky Harris informed umpire Dick Nallin in the 2nd inning that if the Tigers lost he would protest the game because the batting order given to the home team before the game had Chapman batting ahead of Lazzeri. It did not match the correct order that was given to the umpire. When Lazzeri singled in the 2nd, Harris brought the situation to the attention of the umpire. However, the umpire refused to call the batter out. The protest was latter upheld and the game was declared a no contest.

August 4, 1932

New York Yankees catcher Bill Dickey returns to the lineup after serving a one-month suspension

August 5, 1932

Tommy Bridges loses his bid for a perfect game when Senator pinch-hitter Dave Harris, the 27th batter he faces, bloops a single in the Tigers’ 13-0 rout over Washington. The 24 year-old right-handed Tennessean from Gordonsville will toss two more one-hitters for Detroit next season.

August 11, 1932

Rookie SS Arky Vaughan makes a crucial error in the 10th inning‚ and the Cubs top the Pirates, 3 – 2, to retake first place.

August 12, 1932

American League president Will Harridge upholds Detroit’s protest of its August 1st game against New York and orders it replayed on September 8th. Detroit had protested because Tony Lazzeri’s and Ben Chapman’s batting order was orally reversed after the lineup cards were handed in before the game.

August 12, 1932

At Fenway Park‚ Paul Andrews holds the A’s to 5 hits and Boston beats George Earnshaw, 2 – 1. The win snaps the Sox losing streak of 11 games.

August 12, 1932

At the Polo Grounds‚ the Dodgers make 12 hits but just beat the Giants‚ 1 – 0. The Giants pull off a major league record-tying 6 double plays to keep the score down.

August 12, 1932

George Hubbell, younger brother of Carl Hubbell, is traded from the Muskogee Chiefs to the Hutchinson Wheat Shockers for four new baseballs.

August 13, 1932

Commissioner Kenesaw Landis clears Rogers Hornsby of charges of fraudulently “borrowing” money from Cubs players. The Chicago papers said Hornsby had obtained money from players, either loaned to him to bet on horse races, or to share in joint ventures. When Hornsby is fined, the players want refunds. Hornsby wants a lump payoff by the Cubs, who refuse. Landis holds several hearings, and as he doesn’t punish anyone, it is taken as exoneration.

August 13, 1932

Bill Terry, Mel Ott and Fred Lindstrom hit homers on consecutive pitches in the 4th inning, but the Giants lose, 18 – 9, to Brooklyn. In the second game, the Dodgers’ Joe Stripp, Lefty O’Doul and Tony Cuccinello hit 1st-inning home runs off Waite Hoyt. Brooklyn wins, 5 – 4.

August 13, 1932

Red Ruffing fires a 10 inning shutout and wins the game on extra inning Homerun

August 14, 1932

Cardinals rookie Dizzy Dean fans six Cubs in a row, one less than the record, and wins, 2 – 1, in the 10th.

August 14, 1932

John Quinn becomes oldest player to win a game at 49

August 17, 1932

1932 – The Cubs and the Braves play 19 innings, the longest game of the season, with Chicago winning 3 – 2. Guy Bush wins in relief. The following day he will again beat the Braves with a brief extra-inning outing.

August 21, 1932

Wes Ferrell of the Cleveland Indians becomes the first pitcher in the 20th century to win 20 or more games in each of his first four season

August 21, 1932

White Sox lose Blue Laws game to semi pro team

August 23, 1932

1932 – The Cubs have only one assist in a 5 – 1 win, sweeping the Phillies in four straight. The fielding mark equals the major-league record.

August 28, 1932

1932 – Due to the anticipation of an eclipse, the Red Sox complete a game several days earlier than scheduled with the Indians and beat the Tribe in 11 innings, 4 – 3. Three days later, Fenway Park goes dark for twenty minutes during the solar event.

August 29, 1932

Detroit C Ray Hayworth makes his first error of the season after handling 439 chances without a miscue dating back to September 2, 1931.

August 30, 1932

1932 – Wes Ferrell is suspended 10 days by the Indians for insubordination.

August 31, 1932

1932 – Detroit P Chief Hogsett hits two homers, as the Tigers end Tony Freitas’ winning streak at 10 with a 5 – 4 victory over the A’s.

August 31, 1932

The Cubs beat the Giants at Wrigley Field in a ten-inning game that witnessed an eclipse

August 31, 1932

Solar eclipse darkens Fenway Park for 20 minutes

September 2, 1932

The Yankees keep their scoring streak alive by scoring in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Senators, 1 – 0. Lou Gehrig triples off Firpo Marberry to score Babe Ruth.

September 2, 1932

In St. Louis, the Cubs’ win streak reaches 13 as Kiki Cuyler’s 5th homer in six games leads the way to an 8 – 5 victory. Mark Koenig adds a round-tripper for Chicago.

September 2, 1932

Twenty year-old Lew Krausse Sr., in his final major league appearance, shuts out the Red Sox in the nightcap of a twin bill at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, 15-0. In 1961, 18 year-old Lew Krausse Jr., in his major league debut, blanks the Angels 4-0, giving the father-son duo back-to-back shutouts twenty-nine years apart.

September 3, 1932

Winning 3 – 0, Dizzy Dean stops the Cubs’ winning streak in the second game of a doubleheader after Chicago wins its 14th straight in the opener. Diz fans seven to further increase his league-leading total. The Cubs take the opener, 5 – 4, in 11 innings

September 3, 1932

Against the Red Sox, Jimmie Foxx of the A’s poles his 50th and 51st home runs to become the third player to reach 50 in a season, joining Babe Ruth and Hack Wilson. Foxx’s 2nd homer, in the 9th, ties the game at 4 – 4, and Eric McNair follows with a game-winning home run.

September 7, 1932

Babe Ruth is hospitalized with pains in his side.

September 8, 1932

In the Pirates’ 12 – 2 loss to Brooklyn, Buc C Earl Grace makes a wild throw to end a streak of 110 consecutive errorless games. It is Grace’s only error of the season for a National League record. Must be something in the air as seven E’s are recorded.

September 8, 1932

The Yankees and Tigers replay their protested August 1 game as the nightcap of a doubleheader, but end in a 7 – 7 tie. After the game, Babe Ruth experiences abdominal pains he believes are an appendicitis attack. He will be out of the lineup indefinitely. Sammy Byrd, subbing for Ruth in the opener, collects five hits for the Yankees, including two home runs in a 5 – 4 win.

September 9, 1932

1932 – The Tigers beat the Yankees, 14 – 13, in a 14-inning game in which Lou Gehrig hits a grand slam and drives in eight runs. He has reached this RBI feat twice before. Frankie Crosetti strikes out four times in the game, including twice in one inning. Detroit also tops the Yanks, 4 – 1, in five innings to finally complete the protested game of August 1st, and the tie of yesterday. The Yanks score their lone run in the 3rd inning off Buck Marrow with their only two hits of the game.

September 11, 1932

Joe Schultz, Jr., 14-year-old son of Houston (Texas League) manager Joe Schultz, is inserted into a game against Galveston as a pinch hitter. He hits a single, steals second and third base, and scores a run. Fritz, the black batboy, also bats, but is fanned by Hank Thormahlen after trying to sacrifice.

September 11, 1932

The Cardinals sign Branch Rickey to a 5-year contract as general manager and director of the farm system.

September 11, 1932

The New York Yankees clinch the American League pennant with their 100th victory, as George Pipgras defeats the Indians, 9 – 3, at Cleveland.

September 12, 1932

In the bottom of the 9th, Johnny Frederick hits his major league record-setting sixth pinch-homer of the season off Burleigh Grimes

September 12, 1932

With their 100th victory of the year, the Yankees clinch the American League pennant as George Pipgras beats the Indians at Cleveland Stadium, 8 – 3. Yankee manager Joe McCarthy, who captured a flag with the 1929 Cubs, becomes the first manager to win pennants in both the American and National Leagues.

September 13, 1932

1932 – Brooklyn’s Jack Quinn earns his 247th major league victory at age 49, pitching a complete game 6 – 5 win over the Cardinals. It is the final win of his career. Dizzy Dean fans nine in the nitecap, but the Cards lose, 3 – 1. Quinn will hold the record as oldest pitcher to win a game until April 17, 2012, when he will be eclipsed by Jamie Moyer.

September 13, 1932

The Yankees, with their 100th victory of the year, clinch the AL pennant when George Pipqras beats the Tribe at Cleveland Stadium, 9-3. Yankee skipper Joe McCarthy, who captured a flag with the 1929 Cubs, becomes the first manager to win pennants in both the American and National League.

September 15, 1932

At the Polo Grounds, Kiki Cuyler continues to haunt the Giants by clouting an 11th-inning homer to give the Cubs the 8 – 7 win.

September 15, 1932

The Cardinals’ Ray Starr makes his first major league start, shutting out the Dodgers, 3 – 0.

September 17, 1932

Phillies’ Dick Bartell attempting an inside-the-park home run, baring down on Cubs catcher Gabby Hartnett at the Baker Bowl, 9/17/1932.

September 20, 1932

The Cubs clinch the National League pennant when they beat Pittsburgh, 5-2, thanks to Kiki Cuyler’s seventh-inning bases-loaded triple. The Wrigley Field contest features rookie second baseman Billy Herman’s 200th hit of the season.

September 21, 1932

1932 – Jimmie Foxx slugs home run #54 to lead the A’s to an 8 – 4 win over the visiting Yankees. Al Simmons and Eric McNair also homer off Red Ruffing as Sugar Cain is able to win.

September 23, 1932

1932 – Trailing 8 – 6 to Cleveland after five innings, White Sox reliever Bill Chamberlain gives up five runs to start the 6th. In disgust, Sox manager Lew Fonseca, an infielder-outfielder throughout his career, inserts himself as pitcher. With two runners on, he retires all three batters he faces, then turns the ball over to Chad Kimsey to finish the game. The Tribe wins, 13 – 6, as Wes Ferrell wins his 23rd.

September 24, 1932

Jimmie Foxx hits his 2nd grand slam in three days, giving him 57 homers for the season, but the A’s lose in the 10th to Washington, 8 – 7.

September 24, 1932

In a battle of Boston collegians, Harvard beats Boston College. Charlie Devens, former Harvard hurler, makes his major league debut for the Yankees and beats Boston, 8 – 2. The loss goes to Ed Gallagher, former Boston College pitcher who exits in the 5th. Babe Ruth swats his 41st homer of the year in the 9th and Lou Gehrig belts his 34th in the 5th.

September 25, 1932

Jimmie Foxx hits his 58th home run in the last game of the season to finish two short of Babe Ruth’s 1927 record of 60. Foxx adds two singles but the A’s lose, 2 – 1, to the Senators’ Alvin Crowder. Crowder wins his 26th and 15th straight game, one short of the American League record held by Walter Johnson, Smoky Joe Wood and Lefty Grove. Foxx finishes with 169 RBIs while teammate Al Simmons ties for 2nd with 151.

September 25, 1932

Paul Waner sets a new National League record with his 62nd double, as the Pirates defeat the Cardinals 7 – 1

September 26, 1932

In a doubleheader split with the Giants, Chuck Klein of the Phillies is 0 for 8 but closes the season with 38 home runs and 20 stolen bases to become the only player of the lively-ball era (1920 and after) to lead his league in these two departments. Klein also finishes 2nd in RBIs (137), while teammates Don Hurst (143) and Pinky Whitney (124) finish 1st and 3rd. In this century, only the 1915 Tigers and 1928 Yankees have the top three RBI producers in a season.

September 28, 1932

Al Simmons sold with 2 others to reduce payroll

October 1, 1932

Babe Ruth’s “called shot” home run

October 1, 1932

Joe DiMaggio makes his professional debut at the end of the San Francisco Seals campaign

October 2, 1932

The Yankees win their 12th consecutive World Series game and sweep the Fall Classic for the third time. The Bronx Bombers bang out 19 hits, clubbing the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 13-6.

October 4, 1932

Walter Johnson is replaced by Joe Cronin as manager of Washington Senators

October 18, 1932

 Jimmie Foxx wins American League MVP

October 18, 1932

Chuck Klein is named the National League’s Most Valuable Player

November 1, 1932

Lou Gehrig, Dave Cohen and Babe Ruth encouraging people to vote for New York Governor Al Smith.

November 5, 1932

1932 – In the Pacific Coast League, Tony Freitas of the Sacramento Solons pitches the first night game no-hitter, stopping the Oakland Oaks, 2 – 0, in nine innings.

November 10, 1932

1932 – Donie Bush, pennant-winning manager of the American Association Minneapolis Millers, is named to manage the Cincinnati Reds.

November 22, 1932

1932 – St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Charlie Gelbert shatters his leg in a hunting accident. He will return as a part-time infielder in 1935, playing until 1940.

November 29, 1932

The New York Giants release pitchers Waite Hoyt and Clarence Mitchell.

November 30, 1932

1932 – The Chicago Cubs get Babe Herman from the Cincinnati Reds for Rollie Hemsley and three others.

December 12, 1932

In a three-team deal, the Giants send Freddie Lindstrom to the Pirates and OF Chick Fullis to the Phils, getting P Glenn Spencer and OF George “Kiddo” Davis in return. The Bucs ship OF Gus Dugas to Philly. Lindstrom’s departure was expected after he made known his disappointment in not being named John McGraw’s successor as team manager.

December 14, 1932

The Washington Senators trade Sam West, Lloyd Brown, Carl Reynolds, and $20,000 cash to the St. Louis Browns for Goose Goslin, Fred Schulte, and Lefty Stewart. Washington also get Earl Whitehill from the Detroit Tigers for Firpo Marberry and Carl Fischer.

December 14, 1932

John Heydler is elected to another four-year term as president of the National League.

December 15, 1932

The Red Sox swap P Ed Durham and infielder Hal Rhyne to the White Sox for outfielders Fats Fothergill, Bob Seeds, and infielders Urban Hodapp and Greg Mulleavy.

December 15, 1932

The Phils send Ray Benge and $15,000 to the Dodgers for Cy Moore, Mickey Finn, and Jack Warner. Finn will have a great spring and Brooklyn’s Max Carey will admit in April that Burt Shotton outguessed him on the deal.

December 15, 1932

A joint meeting of American League and National League owners approves the concept of “chain store” baseball, developed as the St. Louis Cardinals farm system, despite strenuous objections by Judge Landis.

December 17, 1932

Cincinnati Reds acquire future Hall of Famer Jim Bottomley from the St. Louis Cardinals

December 29, 1932

Boston Braves purchase catcher Shanty Hogan from the New York Giants