I agree with the above. I think it was totally driven by distribution and sales. High series cards were printed in larger numbers when released earlier in the year. 1965 was my first year and we got lots of all series cards. In 1967 we didn't get 7th series but had a ton of 6th series. In 1968-69 we had 7th series in August. In 1970 I asked for cards for my mid-August birthday party and only got 4th series. I didn't find 5th series until September when a kid at school let me know they were in the vending machine at K-Mart and I was still hunting 7th series too.
I don't think player selection had anything to do with sales. We just wanted cards and there were still stars in each series. In the 60s, only 3 players brought a premium, Mantle, Mays and Koufax. If Topps was concerned about player selection, why were all 3 in the 1st series in 1966? Wouldn't they be concerned that later series wouldn't sell?
Then look at 1970. Aaron in the 5th series, Mays and Rose in the 6th and the two best players on the two best teams, Johnny Bench and Frank Robinson in the 7th series. Why didn't Topps print that last series heavy instead of short printing it?
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