The Cubs of the 1920s & 1930s were well known for their, shall we say, colorful language coming from the bench during games.
It was all part of the intimidation process.
There were a few times, however, when it got a little out of hand. Three of those times occurred during the World Series, and all three times, the Commissioner of Baseball--Kenesaw Mountain Landis (a Cubs fan) was present to witness/overhear it.
All of these are chronicled in the excellent book Judge & Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis by David Pietrusza.
*During the 1929 World Series the bench jockeying between the Cubs and the Philadelphia Athletics was horrible—players screaming at each other throughout the game. Landis heard the whole thing and ordered it stopped. Mickey Cochran, catcher for the Athletics replied sarcastically “Fine, we’ll serve tea in the clubhouse after the game.”
*During the 1932 World Series the bench jockeying was brutal again. After Game 3 Landis said that anyone caught using that kind of foul language would be fined $500. After that—nothing more was said.
*In the 1935 World Series it reached it's pinacle. The target of most of it was Hank Greenberg. Greenberg said it was basically “Jew this and Jew that.” Charlie Grimm admitted Greenberg was the target. “You heckle the star, not the substitute.” In Game 3 it got so bad that 3 Cubs were ejected, Grimm, Shortstop Woody English, and OF Tuck Stainback. Landis called everyone into his office to hear what they called the umpire. Landis, who was known for his own profane streaks said: “In my time in this world I have always prided myself in a command of lurid expressions. I must confess that I learned from these men some variations of the language even I didn’t know existed.” He fined the ump (Moriarity) and Woody English $500 each. He fined Billy Herman and Billy Jurges $400 each for “vile unprintable language.” At that time, they were the biggest fines ever imposed during a World Series.
By the 1938 series the reports of Cubs bench jockeying had all but disappeared.
Since 1946 (after the relatively clean wartime 1945 Series) the Cubs haven't had a chance to do it again...at least not on the big stage.
