1936 World Series

The 1936 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the New York Giants, with the Yankees winning in six games to earn their fifth championship.

The Yankees played their first World Series without Babe Ruth and their first with Joe DiMaggio, Ruth having retired from the Yankees after the 1934 season.

Carl Hubbell won Game 1, but it was mostly downhill after that for the Giants. The Yankees won Game 2 at the Polo Grounds by an 18–4 count, still a Series record (as of 2012) for lopsided scoring. DiMaggio made all three ninth-inning outs in that game, the final a long fly off Hank Leiber that the smooth-fielding young Yankee Clipper snared and then kept running all the way up the clubhouse steps.

DiMaggio would go on to be the only person to play on four World Championship teams in his first four years in the big leagues, the 1936–39 Yankees.

Yankee left fielder Jake Powell started the year with the Washington Senators before coming over in the middle of the year in a trade for Ben Chapman. In this Series, the unheralded Powell would lead all hitters in hits (10), batting average (.455), runs (8) and walks (4), add a home run with five runs batted in, and grab the Yankees' only stolen base.

Game 1
Wednesday, September 30, 1936 at the Polo Grounds (IV) in upper Manhattan, New York

Game 2
Friday, October 2, 1936 at the Polo Grounds (IV) in upper Manhattan, New York

DiMaggio made a tremendous play in Game 2. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Hank Leiber drove the ball 490 ft deep into dead center, and Joe caught the ball running up the steps of the clubhouse. This remarkable catch was at least 40 ft further than Willie Mays' far more celebrated catch of Vic Wertz's drive to deep straightaway center in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series. After DiMaggio's game-ending grab, President Roosevelt, who was in attendance, saluted Joe for his great catch as he rode off in the presidential limousine.

Game 3
Saturday, October 3, 1936 at Yankee Stadium (I) in the Bronx, New York

Game 4
Sunday, October 4, 1936 at Yankee Stadium (I) in the Bronx, New York

Game 5
Monday, October 5, 1936 at Yankee Stadium (I) in the Bronx, New York

Game 6
Tuesday, October 6, 1936 at the Polo Grounds (IV) in upper Manhattan, New York

Composite line score
1936 World Series (4–2): New York Yankees (A.L.) over New York Giants (N.L.)