In small-town north central Wisconsin, 73 Topps were issued in series. I finally figured out that the last series was hardest to find (I restarted collecting in 1971) so when football cards came out, I went to the retailers in Antigo, Shawano, Clintonville, etc, and asked to talk to the manager. I'd make an offer of about 25% of retail for all they had left on the shelf. Little did I know that Mike Schmidt would become who he did. 13 of his rookie cards!
The blue checklists were never included in that area of the country. I ordered them from someone who advertised them in the Trader Speaks.
And sure, as soon as I figured out that the last series was good to buy, in 74 they made the whole set available at one time.
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