1984 Cedar Rapids Reds TCMA

Set size: 28 cards

Front Design: A purple border with rounded edges surrounds a color portrait; stars appear in the upper corner. An outer green border includes the player's name, team, and position beneath the photo.

Back Design: The border is inverted on the black and white backs; the team name, year of issue, league, player name, position, vitals, and statistics fill most of the space. The bottom 1/3 of the card contains a TCMA advertisement.

Parallels and Similars: All 1984 TCMA sets have the same basic design. See my previous two posts for other TCMA 1984 issues.

Distribution: The cards could be purchased from dealers and usually from teams, as well as TCMA. *Note: This actual card is most likely a reprint, possibly part of a sheet distributed with collectors kits in the mid-80s. However, the design is the same, except for the borders - note that in my card, the green border does not go to the edge; on original-issue TCMAs, the green reaches the edge.

Thoughts: It seems like every new photo I see from these sets gets worse and worse. Kurt must have come straight from an audition for a part in one of those 1980s teen sex comedies - you know, airheaded girls in spandex and bikinis sleeping with unbelievably dumb jocks in incredibly short shorts with brains smaller than the walnuts between their legs. I want to enjoy one of those movies, but I keep getting sick to my stomach within the first five minutes of dialogue. Kurt hails from Southern California, and with the lack of statistics he was a rookie looking for other means of income. Is it just me, or does he look like someone asked him a complicated question, like "What's five plus three?" You have to love that mesh jersey, too.

1984 Omaha Royals TCMA

Set size: 30 cards

Front Design: A color photo sits in a purple frame with curved edges and stars in the upper corners. The player's name, position, and team appear at the bottom in an outer green frame.

Back Design: The black and white backs repeat the front border design, containing the team name and year, league, player's name and position, vitals, and some basic 1983 minor league statistics. The bottom 1/3 of the card contains a TCMA advertisement.

Parallels and Similars: All 1984 TCMA team sets appear nearly identical.

Distribution: Sets were sold by TCMA, and could have also been sold by dealers and the team. *Note: This actual card is most likely a reprint, possibly part of a sheet distributed with collectors kits in the mid-80s. However, the design is the same, except for the borders - note that in my card, the green border does not go to the edge; on original-issue TCMAs, the green reaches the edge.

Thoughts: Poor Frank Wills. He was probably walking through the tunnel, back to the clubhouse, after a tough outing (one of those 11 losses in Omaha the previous year), when a guy with a funny hat and a large, old camera approached him. "Hey, Frank, over here!" *bright flash of light* "Thanks!" Months later, his teammates saw his trading card and mocked him for the rest of the season. "I'll show them!" he said, and the joke was his when he snuck in as Danny Jackson in the 1985 Donruss set.

All fantasy revenge scenarios aside, the set design isn't bad, even if it doesn't stand out. Staring at hundreds of these cards at once would probably cause blindness, not unlike the great loss of eyesight that occurred as millions of collectors opened packs of 1991 Fleer. On it's own, as a team set, it works.

1984 Richmond Braves TCMA

Set size: 27 cards

Front Design: The color photo is surrounded by a rounded purple border. Purple stars appear in the upper corners. A green border outlines the purple border and contains the player's name, position, and team in white letters at the bottom.

Back Design: The black-on-white backs contain the team and league names and year of issue at the top; a border similar to the purple front border surrounds the card number, player's name, position, vitals, and basic statistics. Sponsor logos and a TCMA advertisement fill the bottom half of the card.

Parallels and Similars: All 1984 TCMA minor league issues follow the same design, and most TCMA issues of the period have similar designs.

Distribution: TCMA sold their own sets, but it was also possible to find them at dealers and stadiums (especially sets with sponsors like this one). *Note: This actual card is most likely a reprint, possibly part of a sheet distributed with collectors kits in the mid-80s. However, the design is the same, except for the borders - note that in my card, the green border does not go to the edge; on original-issue TCMAs, the green reaches the edge.

Thoughts: Am I the only one who wishes he had one of those TCMA checklist books? $4 was a lot of money back then. I would like to see one! The cards themselves are fairly unimpressive, as most minor league sets are from the 1980s. By 1984, Rufino Linares was on his way out. He never found his place, despite hitting .298 in 1982. He would finish with the Angels in 1985, batting .256 in 18 games. He died in an automobile accident in 1998.

1984 Tigers Wave Postcards

Set size: 35 postcards

Front Design: Each postcard features two pieces of artwork: one action shot and one portrait. The player's name appears in a banner beneath the art.

Back Design: The Tigers logo appears in the upper-left, with copyright information on the bottom left. The remainder of the back is essentially blank to serve its purpose as a postcard.

Parallels and Similars: None known.

Distribution: Issued by Batter-Up during the 1984 season.

Thoughts: This card came to my collection courtesy of the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame blog. While Rusty looks quite goofy in his portrait, the art is attractive and this may be a set I eventually attempt to complete. The Tigers won the World Series that year, so the postcards unintentionally serve to commemorate that victory.

Additional Images: Back of Post Card: