When the Yankees owned October

By Keith Thursby Times staff writer Remember when the Yankees owned October? This was a very good day to be a Yankee fan back in 1938 and '58. In 1938, New York finished sweeping the Chicago Cubs with an 8-3 victory for their third consecutive World Series title. Bob Ray wrote in The Times: "Where other great baseball machines have tried and failed to win the third in a row, the Yankee juggernaut rolled over the hapless and helpless National League standard-bearers with characteristic relentless efficiency." Guess it wasn't close. "We came, we saw and now we go home," Cubs first baseman Ripper Collins said. "It's lucky we didn't get hurt." In 1958, things were quite a bit harder. The Yankees had to storm back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Milwaukee Braves in seven games. New York won the finale, 6-2. The Times editorialized on the victory, judging that there "are only two inevitables--but the New York Yankees run close behind death and taxes and are narrowing the gap."