It appears I'm a little older than those that have replied so will add my thoughts & remembrances to the thread.
Started opening packs in 1948, but the 1st set I really went after to complete was the 1949 Bowman NS set called "Wild West" w/ a very unusual numbering system, A thru H and a varied number of cards in each letter group. On top of that they were issued in 5 Series!
I have cards I bought back then in all 5 Series, but never completed the set.
Starting in 1950 I have complete sets of Bowman 1950-51-52-53 & 54, all completed in the given year. So obviously all series were available in my little towns in WNY State.
Topps was a bit different--Had complete sets of '51 Red Backs but only a partial Blue-Back & partial CMAS issues. In 1952 baseball I only had cards up to 250 and thought for many yrs that's all there were---I never saw or knew 251-407 cards existed!!
I have complete sets of 1953 & '54 Topps & partial '55's & '56's, altho cards from all series are there, so they were available.
By 1955 my attention turned from cards to girls & other things that usually take over by the time a guy turns 15-16!
I also have complete Bowman FB sets from 1950-51 & '52 so I imagine at some point the stores in my area had both BB & FB on the counter at the same time.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.
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