It is a great honor for Worldwide Auctioneers to present The Tom Haag Estate Collection of fine automobiles. As a young man growing up in Madison, Wisconsin, Tom enjoyed a good life. His father had started a small, successful company, State Collection Services. After high school, young Tom really didn’t have a true direction in life, but he did have a passion for cars. One of his first jobs was working as a delivery driver for the local pharmacy, but everyone knew that the main reason he took this job was that he got to drive the pharmacist’s brand-new Corvette! In his twenties, he settled down a little and started to work for his father. One day his dad announced that he was going fishing and after that, he never came back to work. Tom grew up fast as the employees moved his workstation into his father’s recently vacated office, and he found himself being the new boss. Taking to the business world like a fish taking to water, he grew the company to over 600 employees.
While growing his family business, he also started to fill his passion for collecting cars. He enjoyed mingling with like-minded car people and was a founding member of The Eliminators Car Club of Madison. Tom helped start The Eliminators while still in high school and even at that young age, his intentions were philanthropic. More than just go-fast gear heads, Tom Haag liked to give back to the community and many of this organization’s events are fundraisers for various charities as well as an annual Tour of Care Homes around the Madison area, where members take a day caravan to senior living facilities, sharing their cars and creating fresh memories for everyone to enjoy. More recently, Tom used his big heart and love of giving back, to advance the mission and work of the Madison, Wisconsin non-profit, Cars Curing Kids. Cars Curing Kids is committed to funding and supporting causes that improve health outcomes in the lives of children in southern Wisconsin. Comprised of automotive enthusiasts passionate about children’s health care, Cars Curing Kids raises funds through automotive-centric events that share the love and joy of cars with children and adults alike. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of The Tom Haag Estate Collection will go directly to Cars Curing Kids.
As his collection grew, he purchased a warehouse just to keep his cars. All of them were kept in perfect running order and were like family to him. Of course, he did also take time to raise a family, and his oldest son, Tim Haag, joined him in running the family business. In the late 1990s, Tom Haag met his soulmate, Tina, and she encouraged him to enjoy his cars. The storage building soon became known as Tom and Tina’s Toy Box, filled with a wonderful variety of cars, boats, and memorabilia. In 2018, Tom figured it was time to turn the reins of the business over to his son so he could spend more time where he was happiest, in his Toy Box with Tina by his side.
Tom was active in his pursuit of quality vintage cars and kept meticulous records. He displayed his cars at automotive events throughout the region; on special occasions, he would open up the doors to the Toy Box so that others could admire and stand in awe of these mighty machines. These treasured vehicles, ranging from a BMW Isetta to the powerful Dodge Super Stock, are being offered in Tom Haag’s memory with the hopes that the new caretakers will enjoy them just as Tom has, while confidently knowing they are also helping to support a great cause that was dear to Tom’s heart.
