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As the Depression continued in 1932, baseball continued on. What did not continue on, though, was the Pittsburgh Prowlers' domination of the NBC West division. The Prowlers' reign finally ended after nine straight first place finishes, as they posted their first losing season since 1922, finishing 69-71 in third place. The Indiana Fireflies and Baltimore Blackbirds were contending for the division, and the Fireflies prevailed in the end, for their first playoff appearance in team history. In the ABC East, the Knights battled it out with the Captains for the division title, and in the end the Knights won it.
Over in the NBC, the Bears beat back challenges from the Yellow Jackets and the Walter Johnson-less Eagles to win the East. Meanwhile in the West, the Colonels and Cardinals battled it out for the crown, with the Cardinals winning the division by two games.
The Bears and Cardinals faced off in the NBC Championship Series again, a familiar meeting (since the playoffs expanded in 1921, this is the fourth time these two teams have faced off, and the NBC Championship Series has featured at least one of those two teams every year except 1929 and 1930, when the Colonels and Eagles played each other both times. In their previous three playoff meetings, the Cardinals had beaten the Bears all three times. That streak continued in 1932, as the Cardinals took down the Bears in five games to win their 13th pennant in team history (they have, in fact, only been beaten in the NBC Championship Series one time, losing to Philadelphia in 1923).
The New York Knights did not share the Chicago Cardinals' Championship Series success. From 1921 through 1931, they have played in it 10 times and lost it 6 times, including 4 times to Pittsburgh. This time, they faced an Indiana Fireflies team that was making its first playoff appearance ever. The Knights could not overcome this hungry young team, as the Fireflies swept them.
The 1932 World Series featured the Chicago Cardinals, who were going for their 8th championship in team history (which would tie the Knights for most all time), and the Indiana Fireflies, who were going for their first championship in team history. In the end, the Fireflies would not be denied as they swept the Cardinals to win their first championship. They also became the first of the expansion teams to win the World Series (the Colonels were the first to win a pennant, but they lost in the World Series).

1933 boasted some exciting divisional races. In fact, there was not a single team that was running away with a division and playing out the season as a virtual lock for the playoffs. On July 31, the day of the trading deadline, the biggest divisional lead was the Chicago Cardinals' 5-game lead over the Toledo Ravens, who had been in first place in the NBC West earlier that month. The Bears and Yellow Jackets were tied for first in the NBC East, with the Eagles and Tigers only two games behind and the Lions in last place, 7 games out (although all 5 of those teams had a losing record as of July 31).
In the ABC, the surprising Dover Green Dox were refusing to hand the Knights their "birthright" and go away, and the two were tied on top of the ABC East on July 31, with identical 56-42 records. And in the ABC West, the defending champion Indiana Fireflies were clinging to a slim one-game lead over the Cincinnati Silverbacks. The Blue Sox had an even .500 record, but were struggling financially and in serious talks of relocation once again. The Prowlers, who had dominated this division for so long in the 20s, were mired in last place.
The Green Sox decided to go for it, and they pulled a fast one over the Knights. With less than an hour to go before the trading deadline, the Green Sox swung a deal with the hapless Kentucky Kings for star outfielder Sam West, sending four minor league players to Kentucky. The Green Sox front office had done a marvelous job of keeping these talks under wraps, and by the time the Knights heard of the deal in the works a couple days before it was done, it was too late for them to get any talks started. If only they could communicate faster. Maybe someday...
Down the stretch, the Cardinals pulled away as the Ravens continued to collapse and fall way behind, even behind the moderately competitive Colonels. The Bears pulled ahead, but not by much. They clinched a winning season at least and then were the next to clinch the division. In the ABC, the Fireflies beat out the Silverbacks to win the West again, and the Green Sox faded away in the last couple weeks, going 2-8 to close out the season, as the Knights won their final five games and the division (again).
In the playoffs, the Knights got revenge on the Fireflies for last year, defeating them in four games to win yet another ABC pennant. And in the NBC, the Bears and Cardinals faced off yet again in the NBC Championship Series. The Bears finally got the best of the Cardinals, defeating them in four games to set up another all-New York World Series. This is the third time these two teams had met in the World Series; each had previously won one World Series over the other.
In the World Series, the Knights won their first two games, but then dropped the next three. Back in their home park, the Knights won Game 6 to force a Game 7. In Game 7, the Bears went into the late innings clinging to a one-run lead. Hack Wilson batted in a much needed insurance run in the top of the 8th inning, and then the Bears got another run on a wild pitch to make it a 6-3 game. The Knights threatened in the bottom of the 8th, but did not score. In the bottom of the 9th, Knights first baseman Lou Gehrig doubled off Bears pitcher Ray Prim with one out. Prim got Babe Ruth to harmlessly fly out to center field for the second out, bringing young catcher Bill Dickey to the plate as the last hope for the Knights. Dickey flew out to deep center field, and the Bears won the World Series over the Knights.