I've just looked through my M114s...
None of the Cardinal players that I have show the shield with the stripes and stars. That doesn't show on the 1946 Cardinals Champions, nor on Brecheen, Collins, Fournier, Hopp, Kurowski (although I can't see his left sleeve), Marion (can't see sleeve), Moore, Munger (can't see sleeve), Musial 1943, O'Farrell, Pollett, nor Thevenow.
I do have 2 Dick Wakefield M114s, he's in that Tigers uniform following through on a swing, and big on his left sleeve is that shield with stripes and stars. SCD attributes Wakefield's M114 to 1943, which may be about right. I'm thinking this symbol was on sleeves in 1943 through 1945.
Red's first major league game was April 17, 1945. I concede that a 1945 photo of him could have been used for a 1952 M114. But it seems more likely that BM would have used a 1945 photo for his 1945 M114. Those houses make me think of the restricted travel during WW II, and maybe the Cardinals were doing spring training closer to St. Louis, instead of down in Florida. (Somewhere I have a book that would tell me where they had spring training in 1945.)
I still think that M114 is Red's 1945 issue, not the one SCD attributes to 1952.
I'll post a scan of the Wakefield M114.
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