1974 Topps Factory Set

[Baseballcrazy62]

I could have sworn it was Sears that had the set. I remember my Grandmother picking one up for me. It was either 4.99 or 5.99 if memory serves me correct.

[nolemmings]

Could have been available by Christmas 1973 but it would have been a tight fit. All of the transactions in the "traded" set were completed by December 11, 1973.

"This was the 1st year Topps issued their cards all at once" Not exactly
It was the first year they were only available all at once, however.

[ALR-bishop]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Could have been available by Christmas 1973 but it would have been a tight fit. All of the transactions in the "traded" set were completed by December 11, 1973.

"This was the 1st year Topps issued their cards all at once" Not exactly
It was the first year they were only available all at once, however.

Which brings to mind a tiff of sorts in a prior thread

[rats60]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Could have been available by Christmas 1973 but it would have been a tight fit. All of the transactions in the "traded" set were completed by December 11, 1973.

"This was the 1st year Topps issued their cards all at once" Not exactly
It was the first year they were only available all at once, however.

No, 1974 Topps weren't available until April 1974. The traded cards weren't released until the summer. These were sold at the end of 1974.

[moeson]

Originally Posted by rats60

No, 1974 Topps weren't available until April 1974. The traded cards weren't released until the summer. These were sold at the end of 1974.

1974 Rack Packs, including the traded cards, were available well before summer in New York City. I used to buy racks from a toy wholesaler on the NYC lower east side. I remember being frustrated at the disproportionate number of traded cards when sorting opened packs to make sets.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by moeson

1974 Rack Packs, including the traded cards, were available well before summer in New York City. I used to buy racks from a toy wholesaler on the NYC lower east side. I remember being frustrated at the disproportionate number of traded cards when sorting opened packs to make sets.

I was always able to get Raks in Nassua County, Long Island, in March and sometimes very early March, in the early 70's. After 12/11/73 but prior to Christmas '73 would be way too tight a window for the complete boxed set. Christmas 74 seems much more likely but also available prior? I have to think most stuff in the old Sears and Penneys catalog et al had to be locked in sometime in June or July at the latest as they would make orders for xx sets.

Now, I googled the 1974 Wish Book and alas it is not yet on this site but be prepared to spend the rest of your night surfing here: http://www.wishbookweb.com/

[nolemmings]

So did the first print run have the Padres designation, then Washington, then San Diego again? If not, it seems real odd that they would change the Freisleben card from Washington to two different-sized San Diego Padres fonts (unless maybe there were two different printers).

[rats60]

Originally Posted by moeson

1974 Rack Packs, including the traded cards, were available well before summer in New York City. I used to buy racks from a toy wholesaler on the NYC lower east side. I remember being frustrated at the disproportionate number of traded cards when sorting opened packs to make sets.

There were no traded cards in the boxes of 1974 Topps that I bought in April. They came much later, maybe before late June, but I don't know what you mean by "well before" because we are only talking about a 2 month window. There was definitely a significant amount of time where traded cards weren't in packs of 1974 Topps.

The Washington National League cards were definitely in the first printing of cards and replaced quickly with San Diego Padres cards. There were multiple printings of 1974 Topps. I believe that San Diego cards replaced Washington cards before the Traded Cards were added to the print run. So, there would have been at least 2 different print runs for Padres cards.

[nolemmings]

Maybe someone here can check their January 1974 edition of the Trader Speaks for some info, as a few of the cards are pictured on the cover.

[moeson]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Maybe someone here can check their January 1974 edition of the Trader Speaks for some info, as a few of the cards are pictured on the cover.

I don't believe that issue had an article on the set. Here is a review from an early April 1974 issue of the Ballcard Collector which discusses the inclusion of traded cards, as well as San Diego and Washington versions of Rich Morales in the same box.