1916 M1-104 & M101-5 Sporting News Set Overview

Card Specs: 1.6"x 3”  |  200 cards  |  Black & White  |  Classification: Magazine/Periodical  |  M101-4/5

The 1916 M101-4 and M101-5 baseball cards sets, created by Felix Mendelsohn, are among the most important pre-war baseball card releases, widely recognized for producing the major league rookie card of Babe Ruth.  The set also includes Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, George Sisler, Red Faber, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Walter Johnson, and Tris Speaker among other late Deadball era stars. 

Each checklist includes 200 players, and are easily the most notable subsets of the nine-part M101 series which ultimately produced more than 700 cards and supplements. 

Hall of Famers George Sisler, Ty Cobb, and Honus Wagner

M101-4/5 Card Specs & Design

1916 M101-4/5 Cards feature black & white studio-style photographs, with the player’s name, position and team printed below the photo, and the card number at the bottom. The sets are often referred to as the “Sporting News” set since it’s the most common advertising back, but Mendelsohn distributed the cards to a variety of advertisers, so cards can also have blank backs or alternate ads such as Gimbels, Standard Biscuit, Weil Baking, Everybody’s, Famous & Barr, or Holmes to Homes Bread.  The most common reverse is actually the blank back.

Various Advertising Backs of the M101-4/5 Card Set

M101-4/5 Card Distribution

Due to the variety of advertising backs, the M101-4/5 sets didn’t have a standard delivery method.  Core distribution was through the Sporting News, which sold full sets by mail.  The remaining were sent to various manufacturers who could stamp the blank backs with their brand and distribute as giveaways, or riding along with the sale of their products, whether bread, or clothing, or sporting goods.  This creates a grey area in the set’s classification, since technically bread cards fall into the “D” category (vs “M” for Periodicals) of the card catalog.

Difference Between M101-4 and M101-5

M101-5 vs M101-4 "Shoeless" Joe Jackson

Collectors typically view M101-5 as the earlier issue and M101-4 as its revised companion.  Both sets were issued in 1916, but M101-5 was issued first, while M101-4 came later in the year with adjusted players and card numbers.  The card designs are identical and both sets share the diverse assortment of advertising backs, so typically the easiest way to differentiate one from the other is by the player and card number.

How Much are M101-4/5 Cards Worth?

Like more pre-war cards, M101-4/5 value is closely tied to player, condition, and scarcity of the reverse side.  Poor conditioned commons will sell for under $100, and a rare advertising back can push the value into the low hundred.  The value for more popular players can push into four-figures, even in poor condition, and hall-of-famers, like Ty Cobb or Walter Johnson, with high condition grades and/or rare backs can easily clear five-figures.

M101-4 Walter Johnson & Morehouse Baking Urban Faber

The Babe Ruth rookie is in a class of its own. In today’s market even a poorly-graded example can clear $100,000, with better preserved or rare reverse cards pushing well past $500,000. 

Recent REA Auction M101-4 Sales

1916 M101-4/5 Morehouse Baking Babe Ruth PSA 3.5 - $812,724 - 2024 Fall Auction

1916 M101-4 Sporting News Grover Alexander PSA 8 - $25,200 - 2025 Spring Auction

1916 M101-4 Sporting News Ty Cobb SGC 3.5 - $10,500 - 2025 February Auction

1916 M101-4/5 Sporting News Raw Collection (11) - $707 - 2025 October Auction

FOR MORE RESULTS, SEARCH "M101-4" IN OUR AUCTION ARCHIVE.

Consign Your M101-4/5 Cards

Our auctions regularly feature M101-4/5 cards, and many of our bidders are rabid pre-war collectors.  If you have cards that may be a fit and you’re looking to sell, reach out today to connect with a specialist for a consultation to learn how our auction can maximize your single card or collection’s value.