Interesting question. I think it depends on the era in which collector's were collecting cards. Our Hobby Founders probably noticed a lot more than the kids did when it came to error cards.
It's difficult to say for sure who picked up on say, the 1957 Topps Gene Baker error other than the printer. As a printer myself, I know just how many quality-control checks I'd have to do on a sheet and it was at least 6 to make sure I got every color matched up to the key. On the 1952 Topps, the red/black backs were two separate print runs each of the first series and the colors denote this.
I have a sneaking suspicion that rival gum/card companies and the ball players themselves were grabbing card packs in the 40's and 50's just by the amount of Personal Privacy law suits and contract violations there were.
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