Thanks again for all the feedback. Jakeinge, I wonder if the cards your co-worker bought back in the day came from jobbers on the Wisconsin side of the border (some may not know that Red Wing is right across the Mississippi River from Wisconsin). I was hoping some more of my native Minnesotans from back then, especially in the Twins Cities, would check in on this.
Anyway, it's still an open question for me. Again, I grew up thinking everyone got the 73s in one series, then the guides came out late 70's and still seem silent or at most unsure on the subject, and lead collectors to believe they came out only in series. Then I see people claiming that the Boston, Cleveland and Long Island areas, and at least parts of California and Florida received all cards at once, and I read Haber's letter that it was the plan to have the majority of the country receiving them this way; meanwhile, other parts of NYC and PA as well as NC and NoCal seem to recall series only. Seems a bit unsettled.
I do need to amend and correct one thing I stated-- the cards may have been distributed all at once, but were not printed at the same time. Haber makes mention that Topps got "stuck" with certain guys on teams who had been traded. One such trade was KC sending Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum to the Reds for Hal McRae and Wayne Simpson. Haber noted that Topps was "stuck" with three of these, two of which are low numbers and Roger Nelson (#251). However, Wayne Simpson is shown on his new team and is card #428. So the first two or three series appear to have been printed before the others. Also, Simpson's facsimile auto is shown with the new team/Royals on the team checklist, so those would also have been printed subsequent to the first 2-3 series from the set.
EDITED TO ADD: Simpson's card specifically mentions the trade:
