I researched this a long time ago, and this was the best answer I could find. It was the "WILD WEST". The days of Samuel Morse and the telegraph. Winchester developed a new weapon, which was probably one of the greatest inventions of the times: the Model 1873 repeating rifle. It was a grand invention, and considering the times, the news of it's inventioin spread like wildfire across the nation. Everyone, and I mean everyone wanted one. It was the talk of the town, and of the west. Telegraph operators, in place of wishing each other "a good day" or "good luck" began wishing each other a "73" And, it stuck. 73 de W5CF Rick
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