I think that Topps used two different printers/distributors to get the 1st and 2nd series out in order to expedite the process. One printer used a white back and the other used a gray back. As the set was released they phased out the 2nd distributor and then the backs became more uniform.
The issue that Topps was trying to avoid was a delay in their distribution leaving too much inventory around when football season rolls around in the fall. That is the classic story when Topps had too many extra cases of the 1952 set which eventually had to be disposed of in the Atlantic Ocean. I think we would have all pitched in by taking a case or two from Sy to help him make room in the factory, lol.
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