Followers of this blog and our Facebook and Twitter accounts have been a bit TCMA obsessed since several of us gathered in Cooperstown for the opening of the Hall of Fame’s Shoebox Treasures exhibit in May. A chance run in with Andrew Aronstein, son of TCMA founder Mike, touched off a bit of TCMA frenzy. (I’ve known Andrew and Mike for a few years, so I’m glad others in our card world are getting to know them).
My own recent TCMA interests have circled around the big baseball decades sets (and the football, basketball and hockey sets). Not all of them, actually, only the 1950’s and 1960’s sets. These are all beautiful, simple cards, with magnificent photos, as you’d expect. I picked up the entire 1950’s set at Baseball Nostalgia in Cooperstown (where else?), which started over 40 years ago as the TCMA flagship store.
The cards are wonderful, the checklist is wide ranging and they look wonderful signed. Released in 1979, the 291 card set is a must have.
With that set safely acquired, I marched forward to get both 1960’s sets, but was warned at Baseball Nostalgia that they’re harder to find than the ‘50’s set, and pricier. This proved to be true. The first set, released in 1978 with 293 cards was easier to spot, but I didn’t want to buy that series without the more difficult second series attached. (I learned this lesson when I picked up a cheap TCMA football base set and still find myself struggling to get the 12 card update at a reasonable price. I’d have been better off waiting to buy both sets.)
The 1981 (yay Split Season!) series 2 has 189 cards, but the problem is that about 1/3 were printed compared to series 1 (according to the Standard Catalog). Whenever that series would appear, it was too pricey for me.
Well, as of last night, my long waiting is over. I got both sets for a good price and they’re on their way! I can’t wait. Like the 1950’s cards, the 1960’s sets have fantastic variety of names, from superstars to non-stars to Jim McKnight.
And they look wonderful signed.
SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee 
Some of my favorites. I think the same thing every time I see these: I should have ordered them by mail out of Baseball Digest while I had the chance. “I was right, mom!”
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I wrote about my poor logic on these sets here: https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2018/07/02/laughlin-to-keep-from-crying/
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I sold all my TCMA sets (including all the minor lg sets) to Ken Savage. Maybe he has some left.
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See you in Cooperstown in a few days!
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You know I’m looking forward to that!
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Hello, I inherited a truckload of cards, including many TCMA minor-league sets beginning in the early ’70s through 1992. I was wondering if there is a price guide for those sets somewhere. Any help would be much appreciated. Vince
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Track down a Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards. Here’s one from 2016:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Standard+Catalog+of+Baseball+Cards+2016&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
Price fluctuations on these sets are minimal, so you’d also be safe tracking down a cheaper, older edition. Also, some libraries carry this book in their reference section.
Keep us posted! Lots of people in this committee are into those sets.
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Great post Jeff. I’m thankful for the meet up we all had in Cooperstown. I think we’ve all benefited from the get together. For sure there is no better place to shop than Baseball Nostalgia
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Thanks Mark. So glad you all got to meet Andrew and experience the joy of Baseball Nostalgia.
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I am so thankful to Mike Aronstein and TCMA for giving a young kid (back then!) like me a chance to own baseball cards of all-time greats. It is so evident in holding these cards what a labor of love they represent, and they most definitely deserve to be written about a good 4o years later. Thanks, Jeff, for this great piece.
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Very enjoyable, JK. Somehow not a one of these cards has ended up in my 35 year accumulation. They are classic beauties.
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Thanks. They’re worth pursuing.
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The TCMAs, for us graded card aficionados, are great not just because they are so cool looking, but because you can acquire them as 9s or 10s for a reasonable price. I have several in my mixed set of Hall-of-Famers to augment cards from various Topps sets.
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That makes a lot of sense.
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