TCMA past and present...

SteveMitchell · #1 05-15-2014, 12:59 PM

Welcome, Mike and Andrew! It's been a pleasure following and dealing with Mike since the early days of TCMA - actually pre-dating TCMA when Mike headed up SCFC (pre-1970). The TCMA commemorative sets certainly filled a collecting void during the days of virtually Topps-only and today hundreds of hobbyists appreciate having sets such as 1936-37 New York Giants, 1942-49 Play Ball, Stars of the 1950s and 1960s and, of course, the comprehensive "The 1930s" set of 500+ cards, among many, many others including minor league sets which Mike's company produced by the hundreds.

Which brings me to my question: Why was Babe Ruth not included in "The 1930s" set?

A final, personal note: Mike and TCMA were among the biggest boosters, 1973-74, for the 20-issue run of Sports Scoop magazine and went on to produce his own collector periodicals - helping keep alive our great hobby. Thanks, Mike! We collectors owe you a great debt of gratitude.

Best regards,
Steve Mitchell

pawpawdiv9 · #2 05-15-2014, 01:12 PM

I remember as a kid (and my brother), that my mom got us something from Sear for Xmas and it was a starters kit. It came with a binder and sheets and bunches of cards (tcma)
I still got it till this day, sits in my closet. It was those 'immortals' set, I think there were 3 versions in the collection. Havent touch it in years and years...I do remember looking thru it and say look at these old people...yeah it the Babe, Lou, and etc.
This is what got us into the hobby of collection cards. Thank you Mom.

toppcat · #3 05-15-2014, 06:08 PM

Awesome! I have a few TCMA sets scattered throughout my collection and am all ears if you guys want to get into your history.

joeadcock · #4 05-15-2014, 09:24 PM

This article I cut out of my dad's INCOME OPPORTUNITIES magazine in 1975, I have saved all my life. It is about how Mike Aronstein started TCMA. It's a quick easy read and you'll love it.

Mr. Aronstein found plates of older baseball players from an antique shop, and hence began the corp.

Love the paragraph in which it is explained he paid $300 for Goudey Lajoie, and $250 for a T206 Plank, and that he pays top dollar. Who would have imagined today's prices?

ullmandds · #5 05-15-2014, 09:32 PM

I used to have some TCMA stuff when I'd buy sets from Renatta Galasso in the late 70's-early 80's. Welcome and enjoy your road trip!

steve B · #6 05-16-2014, 07:56 AM

Great to have you here!

I learn new stuff all the time, and a couple weeks ago I learned something related.
Went to a stamp show and looked through a big collection of baseball covers. And came across one from TCMA. I never knew you did covers too.

I've got a few cards, and like the sets. I especially like the large set with the puzzle back. As time goes by I come to appreciate them more than when they were new.

Steve B

Jay Wolt · #7 05-16-2014, 08:06 AM

Good to have you aboard.
Always liked the TCMA '50's & '60's sets from the late '70's

TCMA · #8 05-16-2014, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve B

Went to a stamp show and looked through a big collection of baseball covers. And came across one from TCMA. I never knew you did covers too.

We did a LOT of covers. One series was called "On This Day in Baseball History," and we did a set of autographed covers of baseball events, with CMC (Collectors Marketing Corp). Among others.

In 1998 we got into covers quite heavily when we produced covers through Photo File that were offered for sale in USPS locations across the country. Most of those were matted with a photo. We did those until around 2006.

TCMA · #9 05-16-2014, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeadcock

This article I cut out of my dad's INCOME OPPORTUNITIES magazine in 1975, I have saved all my life. It is about how Mike Aronstein started TCMA. It's a quick easy read and you'll love it.

Mr. Aronstein found plates of older baseball players from an antique shop, and hence began the corp.

Love the paragraph in which it is explained he paid $300 for Goudey Lajoie, and $250 for a T206 Plank, and that he pays top dollar. Who would have imagined today's prices?

Amazing that a copy of that article still exists! It's mostly accurate. I do have to read it over more closely but some of what's in that article needs correcting. I'll try and delve into that more tomorrow.

TCMA · #10 05-16-2014, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toppcat

Awesome! I have a few TCMA sets scattered throughout my collection and am all ears if you guys want to get into your history.

We definitely will

.

TCMA · #11 05-16-2014, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

I remember as a kid (and my brother), that my mom got us something from Sear for Xmas and it was a starters kit. It came with a binder and sheets and bunches of cards (tcma)
I still got it till this day, sits in my closet. It was those 'immortals' set, I think there were 3 versions in the collection. Havent touch it in years and years...I do remember looking thru it and say look at these old people...yeah it the Babe, Lou, and etc.
This is what got us into the hobby of collection cards. Thank you Mom.

Was that in the early to mid 80's? If they are the kits I'm thinking of those were done by us through a company called CMC, or Collectors Marketing Corp. Located in Manhattan on 27th Street and 12th Ave. Incidentally, this was also the building where George Matesky "The Mad Bomber" stored his explosives.

pawpawdiv9 · #12 02-24-2015, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCMA

Was that in the early to mid 80's? If they are the kits I'm thinking of those were done by us through a company called CMC, or Collectors Marketing Corp. Located in Manhattan on 27th Street and 12th Ave. Incidentally, this was also the building where George Matesky "The Mad Bomber" stored his explosives.

Sorry for the late reply...i just looked ans YES INDEED thats what is was.
Its still in the blue binder that has the gold striping and lettering.

TCMA · #13 05-16-2014, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveMitchell

Which brings me to my question: Why was Babe Ruth not included in "The 1930s" set?

(This is Andrew typing, but I'm partially dictating for my father).

Interesting question, and to be honest we don't have a great answer. There was definitely a Ruth glass negative in the find that the set was created from, but it could be that we used that image for so many other sets we decided not to use it, or it was mistakenly left out. Most likely not a conscious decision

.

SteveMitchell · #14 05-19-2014, 12:00 PM

Andrew & Mike...

Thank you for the response. I have wondered about this for quite some time and will pass your response along to the several collectors we are assisting in the completion of their TCMA The 1930s sets - including one fellow who resides in Switzerland! (He loves the set and is willing to pay the shipping/insurance costs.)

Again, thanks for the reply and have a great time at Cooperstown!

Best always,
Steve Mitchell

I]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCMA

(This is Andrew typing, but I'm partially dictating for my father).

Interesting question, and to be honest we don't have a great answer. There was definitely a Ruth glass negative in the find that the set was created from, but it could be that we used that image for so many other sets we decided not to use it, or it was mistakenly left out. Most likely not a conscious decision

.

footlong · #15 05-20-2014, 08:09 AM

The first sspc set i purchased was the 42 card set. I believe Jeff Morey took a lot of these pics. Is Dave Zemsky still around?

TCMA · #16 05-20-2014, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by footlong

The first sspc set i purchased was the 42 card set. I believe Jeff Morey took a lot of these pics. Is Dave Zemsky still around?

IIRC Jeff Morey lived in Syracuse and he shot only AAA players for us. It's been a long time but most likely it was Bill Hongach who shot many of the players for the SSPC set, and Rick Cerrone (former Yankees PR Director) may have shot some as well.

bigfanNY · #17 05-22-2014, 08:38 PM

Welcome aboard. I met TC at a show in Laurel Maryland in about 1975 and always looked forward to seeing him at shows. I was 14 at the time and he was always willing to share his knowledge with me. Your Dad I met at the Gallagher's shows Starting in 73 again a very nice man who was a real asset to Baseball card collecting. Glad you are part of Leon's wonderful forum.

Regards
Jonathan

toppcat · #18 05-24-2014, 05:06 PM

Well I'm not sure this is do-able but is it possible to post a list of every set that TCMA produced? I've always thought they price guides merely scratched the surface.

TCMA · #19 05-16-2014, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveMitchell

A final, personal note: Mike and TCMA were among the biggest boosters, 1973-74, for the 20-issue run of Sports Scoop magazine and went on to produce his own collector periodicals - helping keep alive our great hobby. Thanks, Mike! We collectors owe you a great debt of gratitude.

Best regards,
Steve Mitchell

Thanks so much for your comments, Steve. I definitely recall your name but it's been a long time. I think we met way back when, and I seem to have a picture of you in my mind but it's a 40 year old picture

.

DaClyde · #20 02-25-2015, 02:44 PM

I just put together a blog post on the TCMA reprint cards that were produced for the various collecting kits and grab bags one used to see in the late 1980s. Would anyone care to give it a once over and point out anything blatantly wrong with it?

http://clydes-stalecards.blogspot.co...ollectors.html

My assumption/conclusion about the MLB logo on the backs of cards led to a lot more possible reprints than I originally thought were out there. Expert insight would be greatly appreciated by the more knowledgeable TCMA enthusiasts here.

Minor Leaguer · #21 03-01-2015, 09:47 AM

Just saying hello. I'm Chris. As my collection focus is first cards of players from my birth year of 1969 to about 1991, (I call it Reggie to Chipper, lol), TCMA minor league cards are very prominent in my collection. They are very hard to find in high-grade condition, if even at all. I'm enjoying the thrill of the chase. I think they are great cards and just wanted to say thanks!

DaClyde · #22 09-20-2015, 07:59 AM

Over on TradingCardDB.com, someone just posted asking for help identifying this card:

I did not realize TCMA had issued any collegiate sets. Was this the only one, and does anyone have any idea where I might be able to find the rest of the checklist?

TCMA · #23 09-22-2015, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaClyde

I did not realize TCMA had issued any collegiate sets. Was this the only one, and does anyone have any idea where I might be able to find the rest of the checklist?

This is a funny story actually. From what my father tells me the team called him up and asked if he could do the cards, to which he agreed and offered to do them as a favor to the team. They sent him a team jacket as a thank-you though he wasn't expecting anything at all in return. That's typical of my dad.

Leon · #24 09-23-2015, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCMA

This is a funny story actually. From what my father tells me the team called him up and asked if he could do the cards, to which he agreed and offered to do them as a favor to the team. They sent him a team jacket as a thank-you though he wasn't expecting anything at all in return. That's typical of my dad.

Very nice thing for your dad to do!!

joeadcock · #25 09-23-2015, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCMA

This is a funny story actually. From what my father tells me the team called him up and asked if he could do the cards, to which he agreed and offered to do them as a favor to the team. They sent him a team jacket as a thank-you though he wasn't expecting anything at all in return. That's typical of my dad.

And I am glad you dad picked this particular team:
"IT'S ALL ABOUT THE U", as we hurricane alumni say

TCMA · #26 11-18-2015, 08:59 AM

Thought you guys might enjoy this article I just came across from 1983/1984. Not sure of the publication but I'm thinking it's a local paper:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/AzNP71]

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