1973: All 660 Cards Now Available in One Series

PaulMaul

Most vintage collectors are aware that Topps released all series packs in 1973 as a “test” release for their subsequent all series releases starting in 1974.

I’m not sure I understand the timing of this test though. The purpose of such a test would seemingly be to gauge how collectors would respond to the whole set being available at once, presumably at the beginning of the card season. What good would it do to release all series packs when the early series had already been released separately?

And yet, just like previous years, it does not seem like all the cards were prepared simultaneously in 1973. As an example, Ken Sanders is shown as a Philly in series 2, and Cesar Tovar (whom he was traded for on December 1, 1972) is also shown as a Philly in Series 4.

It seems the final series was already prepared by mid-January of 1973 (as evidenced by Orlando Cepeda still being in an A’s uniform despite being traded to the Red Sox in mid-January), so I guess there was still just enough time to prepare all-series test packs for pre-season release.

Does anyone know exactly when these 1973 all series packs were available?

PaulMaul

Found an interesting old thread about this from Net54…

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=184284

BaltimoreYankee

That was a great thread in Net 54.
So what is the final verdict on the blue checklist cards? It seems nobody recalled getting them in packs, that it was a send away and came as a sheet but I do see PSA graded 1973 Team checklists on eBay. Were they just good sheet cut cards or did they leave the Topps factory already cut?

gemint

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I got one or two in packs. According to a page from Deans' Cards, the 1973 blue checklists were randomly inserted in high series packs which is why they are much tougher to find than the 1974 red checklist cards which were randomly inserted in all 1974 packs being that they were a single series.

PaulMaul

I personally believe the blue checklists were in the all series packs, though they could have have been in other packs as well. The 1973 display box I own seems to suggest this.

grote15

@gemint said:
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I got one or two in packs. According to a page from Deans' Cards, the 1973 blue checklists were randomly inserted in high series packs which is why they are much tougher to find than the 1974 red checklist cards which were randomly inserted in all 1974 packs being that they were a single series.

They were inserted into All series packs (as Dave posted above), similar to OPC packs which also included a team checklist.

The 1974 packs with Bonus Team Checklist wrapper variation also included one team checklist per pack but those packs are far more plentiful than 1973 All Series packs.

With regard to the release of the All Series packs, it is widely assumed those boxes/packs were released late in the year but I believe they may have been a test issue for limited markets, similar to 1975 mini packs, which would also explain why many collectors at the time dont recall seeing them at all while others recall seeing them much earlier in the year.

Estil

You know guys know how I lamented and was/is very discouraged about how the 1971 Topps PSA 7's really jumped in price the past few years? Well it looks like the top cards in the 1973 set have as well...thank God I was able to get all the top PSA 7's (still don't have the Schmidt RC) a few years back!! So it's not like I don't get some breaks. Still, trying to find the rest of the set in nice NRMT+ condition raw (so I can put it in a binder) is VERY tricky and I've yet to be able to do so.

gemint

Thanks for the correction. Were the checklists also inserted in high number packs as Dean stated? Are the all series 1973 packs scarcer than the high number packs?

grote15

@gemint said:
Thanks for the correction. Were the checklists also inserted in high number packs as Dean stated? Are the all series 1973 packs scarcer than the high number packs?

Hi John, to my knowledge, the team checklists were found only in the All series packs and I've opened a few over the years (not lately, though!) and pulled a few to submit to PSA. I have not seen or heard of team checklists being found in 5th series packs.

I would say that All Series packs are slightly tougher to find vs 5th series packs though both aren't easy to find in their own right.

gemint

@grote15 said:

@gemint said:
Thanks for the correction. Were the checklists also inserted in high number packs as Dean stated? Are the all series 1973 packs scarcer than the high number packs?

Hi John, to my knowledge, the team checklists were found only in the All series packs and I've opened a few over the years (not lately, though!) and pulled a few to submit to PSA. I have not seen or heard of team checklists being found in 5th series packs.

I would say that All Series packs are slightly tougher to find vs 5th series packs though both aren't easy to find in their own right.

Thanks Tim. This is an interesting topic that I hadn't spent much time researching. I have a few '73 and '74 checklists that are graded and a few complete team checklist sets from each year that aren't nice enough to grade. These checklists prevent me from officially completing my team sets on the registry. The populations are pretty low on a lot of these.

grote15

@gemint said:

@grote15 said:

@gemint said:
Thanks for the correction. Were the checklists also inserted in high number packs as Dean stated? Are the all series 1973 packs scarcer than the high number packs?

Hi John, to my knowledge, the team checklists were found only in the All series packs and I've opened a few over the years (not lately, though!) and pulled a few to submit to PSA. I have not seen or heard of team checklists being found in 5th series packs.

I would say that All Series packs are slightly tougher to find vs 5th series packs though both aren't easy to find in their own right.

Thanks Tim. This is an interesting topic that I hadn't spent much time researching. I have a few '73 and '74 checklists that are graded and a few complete team checklist sets from each year that aren't nice enough to grade. These checklists prevent me from officially completing my team sets on the registry. The populations are pretty low on a lot of these.

Good point. Because they were found on the top of the pack up against the gum, they are tough to find in higher grade (aside from all the other issues with this set).

jmoran19

None of the 5th series wax packs opened on YouTube included a checklist

PaulMaul

@grote15 said:

Good point. Because they were found on the top of the pack up against the gum, they are tough to find in higher grade (aside from all the other issues with this set).

—

After looking for 15 years I have exactly two nice ones 😂

70ToppsFanatic

Agreed these are tough to find nice. These are the best I have found since I started pulling them in the year they were issued

balco758

Those are sweet! As a kid the only Team Checklist cards I ever saw where either mangled or in bicycle spokes.

waxman2745

Are the 1973 Topps checklists more rare than the OPC version?

OPC was only issued in "all series" packs this year, and I am assuming that the OPC factory made more of their packs than Topps made of the "all series" packs.

PaulMaul

The OPC blue checklists are absolutely more common, and much more common in high grade.