Photo of Billy Williams holding a baseball bat. Black text​

On June 29, 1969, the Chicago Cubs held a celebration to honor their left fielder, Billy Williams, who on that day was playing in his 896th consecutive game. In doing so, Williams beat Stan Musial as the National League record holder. The ceremony to honor the occasion was held between games at Wrigley Field during a double-header against St. Louis. Williams was honored with a new Chrysler and a boat amongst other gifts from the Cubs organization. The Cubs won both games with scores of 3-1 and 12-1. William's continued to play in the MLB until 1976. Upon his retirement, Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987 and was named a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.​

Read more about the History of Cubs Buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

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The Buffalo Bills were an American football team from Buffalo, New York. They played in the Eastern division of the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. The team was formed as the Buffalo Bisons, but was renamed in its second season; the new name was a play on famed showman Buffalo Bill Cody, a decision the team hoped would make them more distinctive. When the AAFC league merged with the NFL in 1949, the Bills were not admitted to the new National-American Football League, and instead folded. Today, there is another team bearing the Buffalo Bill name playing in the eastern division of the American Football Conference of the National Football League. 

Illustration of a smiley face wearing braces on a yellow background

A “tin grin” refers to the mouth of a person who is wearing metal braces. Although dental technology has evolved and there are options for clear 3-D printed plastic aligners, the metal hardware option is still the most popular and cheaper option for young people and adults wanting to straighten the teeth in their mouth into a standard bite. When smiling in the sunshine, the metal gleams off of each bracket.

The classic yellow smiley face is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes, and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It was designed in 1963 by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.
The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However, his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

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In the last years of the Nixon presidency, and continuing on into Gerald Ford's administration, America's economy suffered three inflationary 'shocks': rising food prices, rising energy prices, and the end of the Nixon wage-price controls program. Consequently, the US underwent double digit inflation between 1974 and 1976. 

Ford's WIN (Whip Inflation Now) campaign (promoted on this button) began in 1974, when Ford addressed to the National Commission on Inflation, urging both public and private action to curb supply and demand. In a speech to Congress on October 8th, 1974, Ford declared inflation "public enemy number one," and proceeded to argue for a series of proposals that would curb supply and demand, effectually bringing inflation under control. 

Unfortunately for Ford, the general public did not embrace the "WIN" campaign. Many skeptics wore the pin upside down, explaining that "NIM" stood for "No Immediate Miracles," or "Nonstop Inflation Merry-go-round," or "Need Immediate Money." 

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In the 1976 election Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter ran a hard fought campaign to unseat President Gerald Ford. One popular tactic utilized by Carter was to criticize Ford for his handling of the Watergate Scandal and Richard Nixon’s subsequent resignation. In 1972, after the fallout from the attempted coverup of the Watergate Scandal, President Richard Nixon was forced under public pressure to resign. His Vice President Gerald Ford quickly assumed office and used his executive power to pardon Nixon of any crimes. This move generated significant criticism towards Ford’s administration and accusations of backdoor deals even sprang up (Kutler). The 1976 election saw much of this anger captured on propaganda materials displaying criticism of President Ford.

Photograph of William Randolph Hearst with white text

William Randolph Hearst Sr. (1863-1951) was an American politician, businessman, and newspaper publisher who built the media company, Hearst Communications in 1887. Recognized as the nation's largest newspaper chain, Hearst Communications owns numerous well-known publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Cosmopolitan, and Esquire. Outside of Hearst Communications, William Hearst was also involved in politics. Twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat, Hearst also launched campaigns for the position of President of the United States in 1904, Mayor of New York City in 1905, and for Governor of New York in 1906. However, none of these campaigns were successful. Furthermore, Hearst and his life also serve as the main inspiration behind the character of Charles Foster Kane, who served as the lead character in the film, Citizen Kane.

Black text and an illustration of a donkey around the outer edge with a black and white photograph of Rosalyn Carter's head in the middle on a white background

Eleanor Rosalynn Carter served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981, while her husband James "Jimmy" Earl Carter Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States. During her time as First Lady, she was an active part in her husband's social and public policies, represented him in meetings with domestic and foreign leaders, and advocated for equal rights. Jimmy Carter ran in the presidential election in 1980, but was defeated by Ronald Reagan. 

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Morris King “Mo” Udall was a U.S. Representative from Arizona who ran in the Democratic presidential primary in 1976. Udall’s platform concentrated on what he called “the three E’s”—energy, environment, and the economy. He advocated for the planned use of natural resources, a cut in the defense budget, and the federalization of the welfare system. He supported the Equal Rights Amendment and a national health insurance plan.

Unlike his Democratic rivals, Udall pivoted to the South in the hopes of gaining delegate votes below the Mason-Dixon line. He traveled throughout various Southern states, some of which showed favorability to Udall. This unusual strategy, however, did not pay off. Despite his early primary strength and support form the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, he was never able to win a primary victory. After losing the Ohio primary on June 9, 1976, Udall ended his campaign and the Democratic nomination eventually went to Jimmy Carter.

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Morris “Mo” K. Udall was a U.S. congressmen who ran for the Democratic nomination for the presidential election in 1976. Udall’s platform concentrated on what he would call “the three E’s” – energy, environment and the economy. He advocated for a planned use of natural resources and proposed a government guaranteed full employment program, a cut in the defense budget, and the federalization of the welfare system. He supported the Equal Rights Amendment and a national health insurance plan. Despite his early primary strength and support form the liberal wing of the Democratic party, he was never able to win a primary victory. After losing the Ohio primary on June 9, 1976, Udall ended his campaign and the Democratic nomination went to Jimmy Carter of Georgia, who later won the presidential election.

Udall’s campaign led him to become a national known political figure and he continued his work in Congress becoming the chair of the House Interior Committee in 1976, a post he held until 1991 when he resigned. One of his final achievements was to sponsor the 1990 Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act, which protects Indian burial grounds.

White illustration of a peace dove and white text with an illustration of the ecology symbol in dark green on a light green background

In 1972, U.S. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota ran against the incumbent Richard Nixon in the United States presidential election. George McGovern won the Democratic nomination using a populist appeal on taxes and other reforms as well as a sharp antiwar stance. While Nixon ran on a campaign of strong economy and his success in foreign affairs, McGovern ran on a platform that called for end to the Vietnam war, the institution of a guaranteed minimum income, amnesty for Vietnam War resisters, and increased integration. These ideals gained strong favor among his supporters, but failed to stir enthusiasm among the larger population. McGovern’s campaign was damaged by the revelation that his running mate, Thomas Eagleton, had undergone electroconvulsive therapy as a treatment for depression. Eagleton was replaced on the ballot by Sargent Shriver. McGovern managed to get 37.5% of the popular vote, losing to Nixon in a landslide election.

The 1972 election was the first after the passage of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, which lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, allowing student volunteers who had aided Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 political crusade against the Vietnam War to back McGovern in the 1972 election.

McGovern’s emphasis on personal character and morality become central to presidential politics. After the events of Watergate, the next presidential election campaign from Jimmy Carter, Jr. echoed McGovern’s stance on morality and honesty in politics.