Collector Stories | The Team Collecting Group

Building Community through Cards

Date: Nov 19, 2025

Author: Michael Terry

Topics: Cards and Culture, Collector Stories, Team Collecting

Length: 1711 Words

Reading Time: ~9 Minutes

Thom’s Team Collectors, a Hobby group with its own spin on team collecting, has built a unique community while helping each individual member expand their own team collection. Born on the early 2000’s message boards at Beckett, today Thom’s Team Collectors group span the country, sending cards to each other throughout the year.

The group primarily operates through its own website, theteamcollectors.com, coordinating what has become a massive operation that gets the cards of members’ favorite teams into their hands from every other member of the group.

At RIPPED, we were lucky to chat with a few members of Thom’s Team Collectors to get a better idea of just how this works and a glimpse at a fascinating Hobby community. Hopefully, this can show other team collectors the many possibilities when it comes to building out a team collection.

RIPPED: How many members make up the group currently?

Wayne Stearns, Red Sox TC: Currently, 22 teams are filled. We used to have all teams filled. We have people come, stay for a few years and sometimes drop out. We’re like Hotel California: A member in good standing can check out but never leave. We even created an Emeritus Member status for respected members that had to stop sending for one reason or another.

Todd Malanowski, Yankees TC: There’s 30 members altogether, some take breaks when life gets in the way. At one point we all get busy, so of course some are not as active as others.

RIPPED: What is the setup of the group? How does this work?

Billy Neil, Astros TC: We send out all of the cards we receive from other teams and other members all send us our team. There’s no real expectation other than staying active. The quantity and quality of the cards varies. I tend to send small packages that are high quality. Other members might send 400 base cards.

Wayne: A Tier 1 Member is the owner of their favorite team. All the other primary members send me Red Sox cards. The packages range from a team bag, a few team bags, to a box of cards. Tier 2 Members, if your team is already filled with a participating member, you can be a backup member. You’re responsible for sending to the primary member a variety of teams, to replenish their stock of cards to send. In return, the Tier 1 Member sends you duplicate cards. Primary members tend to get a lot of duplicates.

Todd: When it is time for a break, someone will usually announce that a particular product of interest is releasing soon or someone is craving to do one. A poll is set up to determine interest of members, budget concerns, product options.

From there we come up with what each team would like to spend. We determine a rough estimate of the product we want to get and who will break. Each Tier 1 Member has the right to their team but it is not required. Once a decent amount of teams are claimed, all unclaimed teams are opened up for anyone to claim.

RIPPED: Are there any cases where a member can keep a card from someone else’s team?

Billy: Absolutely. We don’t dictate what has to be sent. It’s fully a trust system, which is why bringing in new members can be challenging.

Todd: Certainly! We all love the game of baseball. Many of us have PCs of players that are no longer on our team, or we’re just a fan of that player. When we can, we help each other out in building those PCs. We have other sports teams, players, and interests listed in our profiles, and in many cases it just becomes known who you like. Several of us have sent and received cards to fulfill those collections.

Wayne: There is no requirement that you must send auto cards, game-used cards or inserts. The expectation is only base cards, but there are many generous collectors in our group who send those cards in their packages as well.

RIPPED: What are some of the challenges of collecting in a group like this?

Billy: Finding collectors that are open to the idea long enough to stick it out, especially if they collect a lower represented team.

Wayne: Running out of cards to send the group.

Todd: Money prevents us from being able to do more breaks than we would like. Because of the different backgrounds, we have different budget concerns. But, a group like this allows us to pool our money in and stretch our dollar further. We really use every penny for these breaks. We have had challenges where many times, popular teams or big market teams are heavy in production and small market teams have less representation.

RIPPED: What is your favorite card from your time with the group?

Billy: A custom card signed by one of the founding members, Thom, who passed away a few years ago.

Wayne: That’s one of my favorites too. When Thom passed, we renamed our site after him. He was a special man. He dedicated his life to helping others as his job was with Disabled American Veterans. We pulled, at one of our conventions, a dual jersey card of Ted Williams and Stan Musial. It took me all of two seconds to declare that card Thom’s. He was overcome with emotion. A picture was taken and one of the guys made it into a custom card that we both signed. It is one of my most cherished cards in my collection.

Beyond that, Sox cards. I got some vintage Ted Williams cards that are just amazing. I also have had David Ortiz autographed cards, a few Carl Yastrzemski cards. Let me put it this way, I had less than 1,000 unique Red Sox cards when I started, I now have 26,000. Most of those cards came from our group.

Tony Gillen, Twins TC: The best card I have ever received through the group was a gift that came from Thom, whom I consider the patriarch of the group. Thom sent me a 2005 Hall of Fame Kirby Puckett autographed card. Kirby Puckett was my all-time favorite player and I had not owned a Kirby Puckett autograph. I found out later that Thom made a special purchase with a dealer to get the card for me. It’s the card I value most, and Thom getting it for me is the biggest reason why.

Todd: A Derek Jeter card numbered to 10. Just a great card, an auto with a game-used jersey piece.

RIPPED: Is everyone in the group a fan of the team they collect, or does anyone choose to collect a certain team for different reasons?

Billy: Everyone is a fan of the team they collect. The way we work would not be successful to someone that was simply seeking value.

RIPPED: Do you have any personal favorite stories from your time in the group?

Todd: There were a few of us who were able to meet up in Cooperstown a couple years ago. We had a great couple days of seeing the town, doing a break, talking baseball. I have strong ties to Cooperstown and the Hall, so to share that with them and take them on a behind the scenes tour at the Hall was amazing.

Billy: I got a phone call from Todd in 2022, because he had an extra ticket to Game 6 of the World Series in Houston and he was hoping I could go with him. I was able to watch my favorite team win the World Series at home in person. That would never have happened if I wasn’t a member of this amazing group.

Tony: In 2008, Thom wanted to establish a Team Collectors National Convention, or TCNC. In 2009, Thom was determined to do it again, and I was determined to join him. Eight of us went out for dinner on Friday night, did a massive group box break and saw an MLB game on Saturday. From there, we attempted to make the TCNC an annual event, each time at a different ballpark.

We did the 2015 TCNC in Baltimore because of Thom’s proximity, and also because the Orioles would be playing the Twins in August (my decision). This would also be the last time we would see Thom; he would pass away the following year. Since then, we’ve met up at the National, and I’ve gone to ball games with members around the country.

RIPPED: What do you love the most about being in a group like this?

Billy: We have all grown up together. I was in my ’20s when I joined. Crazy!

Todd: The community. We’ve helped each other through difficult times, shared happy moments, and formed a bond. I’ve grown my Yankees collection to well over 100,000 cards. Filled many holes in sets, built some cool player PCs. Made a lot of people happy doing the same for them. To give a card to someone who would appreciate it more than I do makes me feel great.

Wayne: I love the friends I’ve made over the years. If I am traveling to a part of the country that has a collector nearby, I do everything I can to work in a visit with them. I’ve met up with collectors in Colorado, Chicago, Minnesota, Baltimore, DC, and Nashville. With our website, the core group visits frequently, to post life updates, share stories, or talk about their team.

Tony: The friendships. I mostly joined the group because the guys in the group seemed like good people to know. I’ve always been a Minnesota Twins fan but did not necessarily have a Twins focus in my own collecting until joining. What started out as guys just hanging out on the message boards slowly over time turned into guys building friendships in The Hobby, our favorite sport, our lives.