Quote:
Originally Posted by nolemmings
There must have been a lot hair pulling and chaos at Topps in December 1973. What I'm unclear about is why Topps felt the need to have its entire set not only proofed but nearly or entirely ready to go in December, months before they would sell it at retail.
I haven't put a great deal of research into it, but it seems that the timeline goes something like this (from a few different sources not always in precise agreement):
May, 1973-- Padres are sold by Smith, who has IRS and other financial problems
May-June, 1973-- buyer/prospective owner makes serious noise about moving the team to Washington, possibly before end of season
late Fall 1973-- City of San Diego files multiple suits, seeking stadium rent for the remainder of a long lease term--and at some point wins
September 1973--owners quoted as being against move, Bowie Kuhn advocates for D.C.
December 6, 1973-- league approves sale to Washington conditionally- conditions to be met in 15 days; NL schedule printed with Wash. D.C.
December, 1973 later-- New ownership group unable to pull it all together in view of risks/costs
December/January: League looks at keeping team in S.D under league ownership, still fishing for other local buyer in Cal; one prospect fails
January, 1974: different Washington ownership group makes a play--unsuccessful
January 25, 1974: Ray Kroc buys the team, keeping it in San Diego
What was the hurry to print before December 6, and the rush to make corrections in such uncertain circumstances?
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Lead times were a lot longer then. Plus the process was much slower than it is today. Everything had to be proofed so it was ready to go, and Topps did a LOT of proofing. Our place did maybe one photographic proof, and that was about it. Topps did several different types of proofs all the way through the design process.
The actual printing would have taken a while, but probably not months for the initial runs. Then packing would have been a bit longer. And all that would have to be timed with other products, like other sports, and whatever non- sports they were doing to fill in the gap between seasons. Hockey and basketball would have been active products, and maybe wacky packs? I forget what was out there overall. Plus printing for some non- card products.
Printing the boxes
Then they'd have to pack and ship orders. Some places do it in big batches, others do it package by package. There may have been a date that wholesalers had to wait for before shipping. Or retailers may have simply held off until the season began. Not a major issue for big chains, but the local convenience store would probably wait till the season, and for a couple other things to sell out first.
One of my friends families owned a 5+10 when I was in High school, in 1981 I convinced him that they should carry all three brands of cards. They did, but around the season opener. The local card shop had had them since I think February. The sales cycle was still pretty much the same then.