When people think of 1980s baseball trading cards, most know of Topps Chewing Gum and others remember Donruss and Fleer. All three companies produced enough 1980s sets for many major league players to appear in dozens of different issues. Almost no one appeared on a single card. Almost!
In that competitive gum card era, most players with one known card came off the printing presses of a fourth company, based in Amawalk, NY, named like a stock symbol: TCMA (an acronym for one of two things).
TCMA filled out dozens of 1970s and 1980s minor league rosters from around the country with players who tested professional dreams for a season or two before moving on to other things. Some collectors seek out guys who appear on a single pro card, like Mike Kolodney, as their personal hobby niche.
You see schoolboy roots in the face of most minor leaguers and this Batavia moundsman resembles every friend I hung out with in 1980s bowling alley parking lots. Curly-haired, earnest, and somehow always willing to buy people Cokes. Can I bum a quarter to play Ms. Pac-Man, bro? Yes? You're a true pal, Mike Kolodney, even if that one card dropped the “E” from your last name.
Seeing TROJANS in large, friendly letters reminds me of being twelve years old and giggling as I passed prophylactics at the drugstore. Batavia thus joined the tradition of minor league franchises with outside-the-box monikers: Toledo has its Mud Hens; Vermont its Lake Monsters; Albuquerque its Isotopes. Batavia now plays as the Muckdogs and offers summer games in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League of teams that span upstate New York.
Mike’s card lacks statistics, so I focused instead on their single-digit post office box number and wondered how many cards it’d take to “Collect them all.” TCMA printed more than 50 sets in 1980 alone, so the answer is, “a lot.”; see The Trading Card Database (TCDB) for a list of everything they made for 1980.
Amawalk sits near Connecticut's western border and this two-story structure served as their post office, where TCMA founder Mike Aronstein, or perhaps his son Andrew, collected letters sent to box #2. They built a brisk catalog business here, selling many sets direct to hobbyists.
Batavia’s set includes 30 players, with total career cards in parentheses. Future big leaguers appear in bold next to their career Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Several others echo Mike as single pro cards with name typos, which tells me someone from Batavia sent TCMA an iffy roster to work from.
- Angelo Gilbert (2 career cards)
- Terry Norman (1)
- Mark Baius (Bajus) (3)
- Todd Richards (Richard) (1)
- Mike Kolodny (Kolodney) (1)
- Kirk Jones (3)
- Tom Blackmon (3)
- Tom Burns (11)
- Monty Holland (1)
- Mike Schwarber (3)
- Orestes Moldes (1)
- Chuck Hollowell (1)
- Tom Stiboro (Stibora) (1)
- Brian (Bryan) Meier (2, both in 1980 TCMA team sets)
- Rick Elkin (2)
- Luis Duarte (2)
- Chuck Melito (1)
- Darold Ellison (1)
- Kevin Malone (2)
- Andy Alvis (1)
- Kelly Gruber (289 cards, 16.4 WAR)
- Rick Colzie, Manager (3)
- Justo Saavedra (1)
- Matt Minium (1)
- Dave Gallagher (164 cards, 4.9 WAR)
- Pat Grady (1)
- Chris Rehbaum (5)
- Jeff Moronko (16 cards, -0.2 WAR)
- Nelson Ruiz (1)
- Mark Wright (2)
Future Toronto All-Star and 1992 World Champion Kelly Gruber looms largest in career success, hitting his higest peak with Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards in 1990. A max-effort style could be why injuries ended his MLB career at 31; read more in his SABR bio.
Kolodney's contract card, reflects his even shorter, one-year pro career. I trust Mike found success beyond baseball, whether or not he loaned me Ms. Pac-Man money.
BATAVIA TRIVIA: In 1986, Batavia set an obscure short-season record by fielding eight future Major Leaguers on one roster: Jim Bruske, Tommy Hinzo, Tom Lampkin (6.2 WAR), Troy Neel, Bruce Egloff, Jeff Shaw (13.7 WAR), Joe Skalski, and Kevin Wickander. Lampkin and Shaw logged 10+ years of service each, qualifying them for the MLB players union pension. Most A-ball teams sport one or two who reach such heights, making eight a true achievement.
BATAVIA TRIVIA: In 1986, Batavia set an obscure short-season record by fielding eight future Major Leaguers on one roster: Jim Bruske, Tommy Hinzo, Tom Lampkin (6.2 WAR), Troy Neel, Bruce Egloff, Jeff Shaw (13.7 WAR), Joe Skalski, and Kevin Wickander. Lampkin and Shaw logged 10+ years of service each, qualifying them for the MLB players union pension. Most A-ball teams sport one or two who reach such heights, making eight a true achievement.
TCMA TRIVIA: Back in those salad days, Andrew Aronstein also posed for the 5th NSCC show program cover! As of 2024, he works for Love of the Game Auctions.
I revised this post for SABR's Northern New England newsletter in June 2024 and encourage you to locate your local chapter!
Value: I bought this #5 for $2 at MinorLeagueSingles.com, a great site that's now defunct. Some eBay sellers ask $50+ for its full set, somewhat beyond what you I think you should pay.
Fakes / reprints: TCMA reprinted several 1980 team sets for "collectors kits" later that decade. Those cards come with black ink backs and MLB logos, while originals feature the blue ink seen on Mike's card.
Fakes / reprints: TCMA reprinted several 1980 team sets for "collectors kits" later that decade. Those cards come with black ink backs and MLB logos, while originals feature the blue ink seen on Mike's card.
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