Curious about 1973 Topps distribution

[jakeinge]

I just bought a small hoard of NM 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1976 Topps baseball from a guy I work with. (Let me know if you need any singles)

I asked him specifically about the 1973 set and the team checklists. He said where he lived in Red Wing, MN, the 73 set was issued in series and only wax packs were available in the area. He has a bunch of the team checklists. He seems to recall the high series cards only being available for a very short time, then the 74's moved in. He also remembered how happy him and his brothers were that the cards were all being issued in one series in 1974 so they could collect all of the Minnesota Twins players at once. It seems to be that if the 1973 set was available in one series in some areas (which certainly appears to be the case) then those areas were very limited.

[nolemmings]

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:

[oaks1912]

Wow, what a great thread bringing up the past and this set. I grew up in the East (San Francisco) Bay area and was actively collecting at the time. I recall getting the cards in wax packs, by series, towards the beginning of the season in Castro Valley, and then mixed series by the end of summer in Alameda. I do not ever recall ever seeing any of the blue checklists in any of the packs I purchased, but I do remember buying them as a set the following year at the Acalanes show (it could have been from an out of town vendor). Around '75, I remember buying a few cases of 3rd series wax from longtime collector Lou Chericoni (the series with Mays in it) and I busted open most of those at the time to make full series runs. I held onto about a half dozen boxes, until the last one sold off about 15 years ago. Wish I'd saved a few more of those boxes.....

[ALR-bishop]

More good input Mark

[Tomman1961]

First "set" I tried to complete as a 12 year old. Bloomingdale New Jersey. Opening day I rode my bike to "The Bloomingdale Sweet Shop". He had only cello. Maybe this was up to the store owner, but I did not see any wax that year. By September he had only Football, so now how to get high numbers. A few towns over was a Woolworth's. They had bins loaded with Baseball cello. I think in one pack I got 4 Fred Kendalls. Man did I have a lot of doubles after that day of purchase.
I am shedding no light. Just remenisceing.
(sp)

[62corvette]

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.

[Tomman1961]

I never had a blue checklist card in NJ while buying from April to September. I only saw cello in NJ. Up to the store owner what to carry?