Curious about 1973 Topps distribution

[moeson]

As a teenager living in NYC back in 1973, I used to buy rack pack boxes from a toy wholesaler on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I recall that one of the three rack pack panes would feature cards from the next series. So 1/3 of the cards in a Series Four rack pack box would be from Series 5. I just checked a May 1973 The Trader Speaks issue which had an ad from a NY dealer selling 1973 sets for $6.99 plus 95c postage, which covered the mailing for individual series as they got released!

[nolemmings]

Thanks Howie. I completely forgot about rack packs. Seems there are many on ebay right now in the Christmas/Holiday header category, so there is that. As for those, I believe it was established that those were third-party issued and not directly from Topps, but it's been a long time since I saw a discussion on those, so I could be wrong.

There are also rack packs as you described on Ebay right now--thanks for the heads up. One of them also appears to have all low numbers in all three panes, so it seems that some may have been limited to each series.

I do not recall buying any racks in 1973, or any before 1975 for that matter. In my town the store that sold wax did not sell racks, and conversely, I'm pretty sure the stores that sold racks (I can think of three, including Woolworths) did not sell wax. Man this stuff brings back great memories! Thanks again.

[mattsedate]

Originally Posted by moeson

As a teenager living in NYC back in 1973, I used to buy rack pack boxes from a toy wholesaler on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I recall that one of the three rack pack panes would feature cards from the next series. So 1/3 of the cards in a Series Four rack pack box would be from Series 5. I just checked a May 1973 The Trader Speaks issue which had an ad from a NY dealer selling 1973 sets for $6.99 plus 95c postage, which covered the mailing for individual series as they got released!

That's cool.

[toppcat]

The Bill Haber comments earlier in this thread are interesting. I like his list of veterans and scrubs not included in the set on the basis they might not make the big club but some of them were non-Topps signers like Rusty Staub who was an established player/star and also was not in the 1972 set.

[bigfanNY]

As a 12 year old in 1973 I was the only kid in my neighborhood my age still collecting cards that year and I remember wax coming out in series and Racks with two sections with one series and one section with another. And I do remember that I completed my set earlier than the year before. 1972 I had to rush to get packs before Football cards came out. In 73 I was complete by early summer. As for Blue checklists they were not in my area (NJ) and when I came across some at a show the next year I was all over them and have liked them ever since. How cool is Hank Aaron shagging a fly with his shades. Great set.
Jonathan

[nolemmings]

Thought I'd move the discussion about 1973 Topps from the other thread back over here-- for future reference that thread is http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=190826

Dave's box topper insert shown above is important because it talks about the "One Series Baseball with all 660 cards" being new to '73 and tells "Mr. Retailer" that he'll get "more sales, more profits all season long". IMO, this shows that the cards were not sold with just the last series or after the season but right from the get go, which is what some of us have said all along.

It looks to me as though the printing of series 1 and 2 took place on November 29, 1972 or so, and the remaining cards were printed in the following three weeks. From October 28 to November 28, 1972, there were 42 players in the 1973 Topps set who changed teams, and all of them show correctly with their new clubs regardless of their card numbers. On November 29 and 30, there were another 26 players from the '73 set who changed teams. However, if those players' cards were issued in Series 1 or Series 2, they were stuck on their old teams, whereas those numbered 265 or higher made the change, even if they were part of the same trade. In total 12 stayed with the old and 14 showed the new team. This suggests to me that Series 1 and 2 were printed on the 29th, with Series 3-5 thereafter. There were no trades in December, 1972 involving players found in the 1973 set, so it's hard to say exactly when Series 3-5 were printed using player/team selection. However, Orlando Cepeda was released from the A's on December 18, 1972, and he is a high number card in the 1973 set (recall that Haber mentioned he regretted that Cepeda had been waived but glad the Red Sox had picked him up in January). This suggests that as of December 18 when Cepeda was let go Topps had finished printing Series 3-5. No player movement after that date was reflected on any card found in the 1973 set--by then the set was in the can, so to speak. Thus, any Spring training shots you may find in the '73 set would have been taken the preceding Spring or before.

[chris6net]

I was only a young kid in 1973 but I was a huge collector back then and I am positive that where I lived on Long Island the set came out all at once. I specifically remember finishing the set almost right away and how much for me it kind of ruined the wait for the next series to come out.

[Tomman1961]

Staub is not in the set as he had contract "issues" with Topps in 1972 and 1973. Though he does appear on Tommy Agee's card in 1973. I opened only cello in NJ in 1973. No wax at my local store. No Blue Checklists. I remember my Dad buying me a rack pack in NJ- no blue in that either.