TCMA past and present...

[TCMA]

This one:

[AustinMike]

Hey Mike and Andrew,

I won a set of Yankees photos from the recent Huggins & Scott auction. They were produced by SCFC. I didn't know anything about them. Today I got curious and did a little research on the 'net. I found out SCFC stands for Sport Cards for Collectors and it was a precursor to TCMA. When I saw that, I thought of you guys and this thread. (Looking back in the thread, I see SCFC was mentioned early on by Steve Mitchell.)

The set is comprised of 99 4X5 photos. Numbers 1-36 are 1970, 37-58 are 1969, 59-87 are 1968, and 88-99 are 1967.

So, I assume the photos were made in 1970. Is that correct? Also, do you know why you went back and made photos for previous years? And why the odd number of photos per year - 36 for 1970, 22 for 1969, 29 for 1968, and 12 for 1967? Also, why was Mantle included in the 1970 grouping as a coach, but not included in the 1967 or 1968 groupings as a player? Why was F. Peterson included in the '68 grouping twice? In essence, can you shed any light on the thought process that went into the years that were produced and the player selection for each year?

Like many others have said, thanks for all TCMA has done for the hobby!

[darkhorse9]

I've got a question regarding the Yankees yearbook and the "Phillies Way" books that were produced by SSPC.

Were these different since they were technically books and the cards were just inserts, or did these fall under the same copyright that Topps was trying to enforce?

It's always interested me on whether the method of distribution affected the licensing of cards. Since Post and Hostess in the past weren't selling cards, but rather using cards as packaging, was this a different legal territory?

[TCMA]

Originally Posted by AustinMike

Hey Mike and Andrew,

I won a set of Yankees photos from the recent Huggins & Scott auction. They were produced by SCFC. I didn't know anything about them. Today I got curious and did a little research on the 'net. I found out SCFC stands for Sport Cards for Collectors and it was a precursor to TCMA

Yes, that is correct . SCFC goes back to the late 60's and was my father and his Uncle, Myron Aronstein. From what my father says SCFC was really just a way for him to make extra money to support his collecting. Then, when things started to evolve he met Tom Collier and formed TCMA, buying out Collier within the first year or two of the partnership. I will have to get more details from the source, considering this all happened almost ten years before I was born!

Those photos are interesting, I don't think I've ever seen them before. To be honest I thought SCFC had only done the art cards that were drawn by my father's Uncle (and some by his Aunt). Will talk to my father this evening and let you know. This has me curious now as well. He just flew in from Cuba today and I think he came back with some cards .

[AustinMike]

Thanks for your quick response. I look forward to hearing what your dad has to say about the set. I've attached a flier for the photos. The flier was included in the auction.

[DaClyde]

I'm thinking these are the glossy photos, usually with facsimile autographs in blue, the team gave out in response to fan mail from the late 1960s to about 1990.

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by DaClyde

I'm thinking these are the glossy photos, usually with facsimile autographs in blue, the team gave out in response to fan mail from the late 1960s to about 1990.

Jason, those are some examples of photos given out by the team over the years. I've got some from probably '65 (based on some of the players, e.g., Gil Blanco) that are approx. 3.5" by 6.5" with black facsimile autos, some from probably late '60s that are the same size but with printed names in bottom white border, some 4" by 6" with printed names in bottom from the '70s, some from probably the '80s that are 4 by 6 with blue facsimile autos (like yours), some 8 by 10s from '79 with printed names at bottom, and recently got some 8 by 10s from probably '76 with 2 photos on the page and printed names on left, with a similar one from probably '81. Unfortunately, I don't have many of any of them.

The SCFC photos from '70 are 4 by 6. Some have black facsimile auto, some don't. I've attached some examples of them.

[DaClyde]

Andrew, any chance you could shed some light on this set, and the different versions that may exist? It is my understanding that the set was created for the Bob Feller Museum. The complete set versions I have (including one that is autographed), was printed on heavy, brown card stock. The other, is printed on the more common white used by TCMA for almost everything. Were these printed by TCMA, and is the white card another one of those random cards that got reprinted for the collectors kits in the 1980s?