I think that three factors shaped attendance in the 1930's.
The biggest was the Great Depression. The nadir for the economy and unemployment was in 1933 when the unemployment rate reached 24.9%. Once the New Deal kicked in unemployment began to fall. By 1937, it had fallen by a bit more than 10 percentage points to 14.3%. At that point, FDR cut back on federal spending and unemployment rose to 19% in 1938. After that, FDR increased spending again both on New Deal domestic projects and preparations for World War II and by 1941 unemployment actually fell to just under 10%. To a large extent MLB attendance tracked with unemployment. It was lowest in 1933 and rose year-by-year throughout the decade.
A second factor shaped the attendance of individual teams. Not surprisingly in years that a team played well attendance was relatively high. When a team played poorly, attendance was relatively low. The Red Sox are a case in point. In 1932, their record was 43-111 and they finished in last place 64 games behind the first place Yankees. In 1933, they improved to 63-86 and they finished in 7th place 34.5 games behind the first place Senators. By 1934, Tom Yawkey had purchased the team obtained star players like Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Wes Ferrell, Billy Werber, and Pinky Higgins. Later in the decade Bobby tand Ted Williams joined the team. While the Red Sox didn't win any pennants, they were competitive, usually won more games than they lost and finished in the upper half of the AL. As the team's fortunes improved along with the economy, their attendance also rose.
Finally, then, as now, market size mattered. Generally, teams in more populous cities such as New York, Chicago, and Detroit drew larger attendance than those in smaller markets.
Finally, in addition to the misprint conflating the Giants and Yankees, there is one involving the St.Louis Browns and Cardinals, both of which are shown with the same attendance in 1934. The Browns, as was usually the case during that period, actually had the lowest attendance in MLB in 1934 (115,305). in 1933 and 1935, the Browns drew less than 100 thousand for the entire season.
I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I recall the SF Giant announcers in the sixties regularly indicating that the AL announced paid attendance while the NL announced actual attendance. Or perhaps it was the other way around. Those numbers in your box scores and news articles look like estimates, e.g., 75,000 and 77,000.
I think that three factors shaped attendance in the 1930's.
The biggest was the Great Depression. The nadir for the economy and unemployment was in 1933 when the unemployment rate reached 24.9%. Once the New Deal kicked in unemployment began to fall. By 1937, it had fallen by a bit more than 10 percentage points to 14.3%. At that point, FDR cut back on federal spending and unemployment rose to 19% in 1938. After that, FDR increased spending again both on New Deal domestic projects and preparations for World War II and by 1941 unemployment actually fell to just under 10%. To a large extent MLB attendance tracked with unemployment. It was lowest in 1933 and rose year-by-year throughout the decade.
A second factor shaped the attendance of individual teams. Not surprisingly in years that a team played well attendance was relatively high. When a team played poorly, attendance was relatively low. The Red Sox are a case in point. In 1932, their record was 43-111 and they finished in last place 64 games behind the first place Yankees. In 1933, they improved to 63-86 and they finished in 7th place 34.5 games behind the first place Senators. By 1934, Tom Yawkey had purchased the team obtained star players like Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Wes Ferrell, Billy Werber, and Pinky Higgins. Later in the decade Bobby tand Ted Williams joined the team. While the Red Sox didn't win any pennants, they were competitive, usually won more games than they lost and finished in the upper half of the AL. As the team's fortunes improved along with the economy, their attendance also rose.
Finally, then, as now, market size mattered. Generally, teams in more populous cities such as New York, Chicago, and Detroit drew larger attendance than those in smaller markets.
Finally, in addition to the misprint conflating the Giants and Yankees, there is one involving the St.Louis Browns and Cardinals, both of which are shown with the same attendance in 1934. The Browns, as was usually the case during that period, actually had the lowest attendance in MLB in 1934 (115,305). in 1933 and 1935, the Browns drew less than 100 thousand for the entire season.
I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I recall the SF Giant announcers in the sixties regularly indicating that the AL announced paid attendance while the NL announced actual attendance. Or perhaps it was the other way around. Those numbers in your box scores and news articles look like estimates, e.g., 75,000 and 77,000.