Frequently Asked Questions

Click on the "Browse" menu at the top of the screen, select a category, then select "Names".

Editing names requires Level 3 permissions. Editing names should only be done to fix typographical errors or to make the listing more descriptive and findable for others. It should not be done to fix numbering problems on a checklist as it will cause issues for those who have already associated their collection with the checklist*.

To edit a name associated with a card, go to the card's page and click the "Turn Editing On" button. This will cause edit links to appear on the page. Click the "edit name" link, make the change, and submit. Setting the "Clear PID(s)" option to "Yes" will remove any associations to the previous name and relink the card based on the new name you enter. Leave the "Clear PID(s)" option on "No" if the linking is fine and you just need to change the description of the card. Set it to "Yes" if, for instance, the card was associated with the wrong person and it needs to be associated with a new person.

For sets dedicated to a single person where the fronts have descriptions rather than the name of the person (example: 1993 Pacific Texas Express), the name fields should reflect the descriptions on the fronts of the cards.

*Example: If the name on #3 needs to be the name on #5 and you edit the names to switch them, then everyone who had flagged #3 in their collection will now appear to have #5, causing things to be thrown off. Instead, use the Inaccuracies link to report issues with numbering.

There is a 255-character limit on the Name field. Longer descriptions should be shortened to fit this limit. The "edit name links" area can be used to add full name associations.

A PID is the unique identifier assigned to each name in the database. PID's are assigned automatically each time a new name is added. When visiting a name's page, the system queries all cards which have the name's PID associated with it, therefore a card must have a particular PID associated with it for it to show up on the name's page.

You can find the PID of a name by visiting the name's page and looking at the URL of the page. The PID is the set of digits located after "pid/" in the URL.

Example URL from Hank Aaron's page:

https://www.tcdb.com/Person.cfm/pid/1/Hank-Aaron

Hank Aaron's PID = 1

First determine if the name really needs to be added. The person may already be in the database under a different name (nickname, etc.) or there may be a typo or hidden character in the name that is preventing it from linking properly. Names that may need to be added appear as non-hyperlinked entries on checklists. Once you determine that it is a new, unique individual that needs to be added:

1. Click on the card.
2. Click on the "Turn Editing On" button.
3. Click the "edit name" link.
4. Click on the "Add New Name" link in the "Linked to PID" section.
5. Closely review the "Possible Matches" area and further instructions on the page.
6. Once you determine that the name needs to be added, click the "Add" button.

For inanimate objects, only names that are proper nouns should be added. Subjects that are generic, common nouns should not be added. Examples:

• stadium (should not be added)
  Lambeau Field (ok)

• trophy (should not be added)
  Stanley Cup Trophy (ok)

• battleship (should not be added)
  U.S.S. Maine (ok)

For sorting and search purposes, these sorts of names should be entered entirely in the "Last Name" field when being created. Teams should not be added as names as they're already browsable through the teams area.

Names should only be linked to a card if they are the focal point or subject of the card. Background players or characters should never be linked. Team cards can link players pictured as long as the player can be correctly identified. Bands can be linked to cards showing only one performer if the band's name is printed on the front of the card, or if the band's name is included in the set's name, or for stickers, if the band's name is included on the sticker album.

Example 1 (based on display name):

1. Edit the name of the card, putting slashes between each name that needs to be linked (ex: Michael Jordan / Scottie Pippen / Horace Grant) and submit.
2. Beneath the card images, click "edit name links".
3. Click the "Create Links" button.
4. Check below to see that all names were linked properly and make adjustments if necessary.

The "Create Links" button will link up to 8 different names separated by slashes. If more than 8 links are required, the "Add Link(s)" area can be used. Additional names can be added using that text box, either individually, or multiples separated by slashes (up to 8 at a time).

Example 2 (independent of display name):

In this example, we will assume that the card has a description that doesn't name individual people, for example, "The Bure Brothers" or "The Early Years". You could rename the card and include the names that need to be linked, like "The Bure Brothers (Pavel Bure / Valeri Bure), "The Early Years (Lou Gehrig / Babe Ruth)" and use the method described above in Example 1, but for the sake of this example, we will assume that you don't want to do this.

1. Beneath the card images, click "edit name links".
2. In the "Add Link(s)" field enter the names that need to be linked, either singly or separated by slashes as in Example 1 and submit.
3. Check below to see that all names were linked properly and make adjustments if necessary.

Sometimes the same individual will end up with multiple name entries due to naming differences, name changes, or nicknames. First copy the PID of the name entry you'd like to keep (usually the one with the bulk of the cards associated with it). Then go into the name you'd like to merge and click on each individual card and:

1. Click the "Turn Editing On" button
2. Click "edit name".
3. Input the PID from the main entry you'd like to keep into the "Linked to PID" field
4. Click Submit
5. Repeat the process for each card that needs to be merged.

For duplicate entries or after names are combined, it might be necessary to delete a name entry. Duplicate entries that have cards associated should be merged over first as only names with no cards associated with it can be deleted. Once there are no cards associated with an entry, a "Delete" button will appear on the page.

If two people share the same name, sometimes their cards might end up in the same name entry and it is necessary to move all of the cards of one of the persons to a different name association. To do this, a new PID must be created for the person whose cards need to be moved, then the name association must be updated for each card to point to the new PID.

Example (separating Chris Smith catcher from Chris Smith outfielder):

1. Determine which cards will stay with the PID that already exists and which cards will need to be moved to a new PID.
2. Click on one of the cards that needs to be moved, turn editing on, and click "edit name".
3. Rename the card temporarily to something that doesn't already exist in the database, like "Chris Smith2", select "Yes" to "Clear PID(s)" and submit.
4. Now that the linking to the previous PID is broken, click "edit name" again and you will see the option to "Add New Name".
5. On the page to add a new name, remove the "2" or whatever you added in step 3 to make it unique, add a differentiation into the "Diff" field and add the new name.
6. A new PID will have been created. Click on the name to get the new PID, then edit the remaining cards that need to be moved to point to the new PID.

First, you'll need at least Level 3 permissions, then from the person's overview page, click on the "edit info" link in the bio area.

First, you'll need at least Level 1 permissions. If a name has the wrong current team listed, visit the team's page, click on "Current Roster" and remove the name from the roster. Then visit the correct team's page, click on "Current Roster" and add the name there.

You can add an alias to a name so that when checklists get imported, cards pertaining to a particular person will also match based on the alias. For example, David Justice/Dave Justice. He's listed as "David Justice" in the system so assigning him the alias of "Dave Justice" would ensure that any checklists that get imported that reference him as "Dave" would get linked to his other cards.

Other examples include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Lew Alcindor, Cal Ripken Jr./Cal Ripken, Ichiro Suzuki/Ichiro.

To add an alias to a name, visit the name's page and click "edit info" and edit the "Alias" area.

Yes, entries should match what's printed on the cards themselves except in the cases listed below:

Case 1: If a card is printed with a misspelled name, the name should be listed properly on the checklist entry, with a note added addressing the error. (Ex: UER: Name misspelled DiMagio)

Case 2: If a card is printed with only part of the person's name (ie. Wagner, H.Wagner, etc.) due to stylistic decisions by the card company, the full name should be used in the checklist entry. This aids in the site's searchability. It does not pertain to people who usually go by a single name (ie. Ichiro, Pele, etc.).

Case 3: If the name is printed in all caps or all lower case due to stylistic decisions by the card company, the name should be entered into the checklist with title case capitalization.

Members with Level 8 access can flag a player as being in the Hall of Fame by visiting the player's page and clicking the "edit info" link.

Please note that only the following inductions are recognized:

Baseball - National Baseball Hall of Fame and Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Basketball - Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Boxing - International Boxing Hall of Fame
Cricket - ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
Football - Pro Football Hall of Fame and Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Golf - World Golf Hall of Fame
Hockey - Hockey Hall of Fame
Misc Sports - Australian Football Hall of Fame
MMA - UFC Hall of Fame
Racing - International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
Soccer - National Soccer Hall of Fame
Tennis - International Tennis Hall of Fame
Wrestling - Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

For members with at least Level 3 permissions:

1. Visit the player's page
2. Click on the "edit info" link
3. Click on the "See any inaccuracies with this entry? Click here to let us know" link
4. Type into the textbox that the player needs the HOF tag added and include the induction year in the request
5. Click "Submit"

The sample image is what shows up under the search results and next to a person's birthday listing. Members with Level 8 permissions have access to make a selection. For players, the preference is a base card, from their playing days, on the team that they are most associated with.