1980 Waterbury Reds TCMA

Set size: 22 cards

Front Design: The red bordered cards have a black and white photo inside a rounded frame. The bottom of the card has a white band with the player's name and position in black; the team name is beneath the band in white letters.

Back Design: The blue and white backs use the same layout as the prior year, with a curving black band framing a TCMA advertisement at the bottom, and the player's name, position, team, league, biographical information, and prior year statistics above.

Parallels and Similars: All 1980 TCMA minor league sets have the same design, and some of the other issues released by TCMA that year have a similar layout. Note that my card above has a white border and a black-and-white back, indicating it was reprinted by TCMA for inclusion in a collector kit later in the decade. Original cards have blue backs, and the red border goes to the edge of the card. Some team sets (other than the Waterbury Reds) were issued in color, though the design is the same.

Distribution: The team sets were sold through TCMA, hobby channels, and team stores.

Thoughts: The black and white photos don't look good surrounded by the red borders. The color cards look a little better. I wonder if Tom Foley was such a bad infielder in the minor leagues that they let him play his position with the batting cage behind him in every game. Foley ended up playing 13 seasons in the majors.

Additional Links: Number 5 Type Collection has images of the non-reprint card #5 (Paul Herring) and a bit on the team.