[Harford20]

Colton,
As a Williams collector, and one who has studied his card variations, especially with the MP&Co cards, I have long thought that there was a "third" year of production that was undocumented given the distinct differences of Williams. Initially, I thought there was just errors and error corrections for Williams, but the timelines never fit to my satisfaction (i.e. if the error is corrected, why is a new error seen).

Added: I should say "different spellings of Francis" as Ted Williams middle name is actually Samuel--not even sure where the Francis/Frances came from. I would have to confirm, but I think the 1946-47 W603 Sports Exchange is the first card with "Samuel" (not the 1954 Topps #1)

As it was Williams, who was in military service during most of the 1943 season and out completely in 1944-45, I "assumed" the "third" MP&Co distribution year was likely 1946 or 1947. I tried to use some other cards to confirm my suspicions, but without the information of the strip data, I found this to be futile as I could not "make" a 24-count sheet.

Your data is awesome. I own a DiMaggio, but cannot give you a reason for an outlier. I DO AGREE that a third year MP&Co does exist. The unnumbered "1949 vs 1944" card still has "Theodore Francis" spelled correctly, and the numbered version with both "Theodore" and "Frances" incorrect. Would your data support any other year other than 1944 (especially AFTER 1949) so my brain can grasp the name change timeline for Williams?
David

Will have to look at my Williams "facing direction" as this is not something I have noticed