The good news? The design was completely different that the previous two. I think it is by far the most attractive of the three. I especially like that they used blue as the primary color on the card, which is always nice for Cubs cards. Too bad the photos were in black and white, though they are much crisper looking than the cards in the earlier sets.
For the first time, TCMA also included regular baseball card information on the backs instead of a checklist. That's another plus.
The bad news? It's the same 12 guys as the first two sets! Why on earth would they keep releasing sets with the exact same guys? That just doesn't seem to make much business sense. I've also tried to figure out where these were sold. In old issues of Baseball Digest there are ads for other sets put out by TCMA, but not these team sets. They weren't sold at Wrigley Field, either. Anyone have any recollection of these at stores or in other magazines?
Well, enough chatter. Here are the 12 All Time Cubs, again!
Interesting that Kiki Cuyler is clearly wearing a Reds uniform.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing those ads for TCMA in old sports-related magazines (Yankees Magazine was definitely one), and remember never being able to get any of the All-Time Yankee sets because my request to the First National Bank of Mom -- I was 8-12 at the time -- was always rejected without any chance of appeal.
There were advertisements for sets like this in old hobby catalogs. I ordered the TCMA all-time Dodgers set through a catalog. Not sure if it was Fritsch or some or other one.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day I got this set, and also
ReplyDeleteAll-Time Dodgers (which is pretty similar)
All-Time Athletics
All-Time Pirates
If I recall correctly I got them from a card shop/mail-order shop that was based in Laurel, MD called "Den's Collectors Den". Even though I live in DC relatively near their "store" location I never went there in person. I did make many mail-order purchases from them.
I'm think they were only available trough the hobby stores/catalogs and only sold as a set. An interesting thing is my Dodgers set I had gotten a duplicate of Jackie Robinson.
My problem now is which of my boxes are these things in?
Correction I live in the DC area in Silver Spring, MD not specifically in DC.
ReplyDeleteThanks, all, for the info. I think I have some old Street and Smith baseball yearbooks around somewhere. I'll see if I can dig them out and check for any TCMA ads in them.
ReplyDeleteI remember Den's Collector's Den. I also remember getting the Baseball Advertiser from TCMA about 3-4 times a year. I probably circled this set a few times but never got it.
ReplyDeleteDen's Collectors Den was run by Dennis Eckes, who was Dr. Jim Beckett's partner as he began his price guide in 1979. Sadly, Mr. Eckes passed away in 1991.
ReplyDelete