Posted By:
Andy BaranThe dates were updated based on research of the Player/Team combinations in the set. For example, Ed Rousch is listed in both M101 sets with the Giants, and he wasn't traded to the Giants until Feb 1916. Therefore, the set could not have been released in 1915. Also, there are no Federal League players in the set - they are all listed on the team they played for after the Federal League.
Mark Macrae did similar research on the Collins McCarthy set, and determined that it had to be from 1917 - a year later than the M101-5 and M101-4 sets.
Also, I tend to think that there are more blank back Ruth's from the M101-4 series than the M101-5 series, based on the fact that there are many more blank back Cobbs (M101-4 Only) than Thorpes (M101-5 Only). However, I can't prove this, since the Ruth cards are identical, and odds are that a Cobb card would be more likely to be saved than a Thorpe, since Cobb was such a big star. I'm not even sure if it really matters, since the Ruth cards are identical, and from the same year.