A white background surrounded by an orange outline and white text. Inside the circle is a black and orange bird with a baseball hat getting ready to swing a bat

Founded in 1954, the Baltimore Orioles named themselves after the Maryland state bird. Their logo has always reflected a bird. Up until 1992 the logo was a cartoon, after that it became a more realistic depiction of an oriole. This logo was created by Stan Walsh, known for his work in advertising such as Snap, Crackle and Pop for Rice Krispies, his depiction of the Baltimore mascot was an instant hit. In fact some say that Stan "got the bird all dressed up, the Orioles gave him someplace to go. The 1966 World Series." The Orioles won the 1966 World Series, sweeping the defending champions the LA Dodgers in 4 games. Walsh's logo remained the team logo until it was replaced in 1992.

Yellow text on a blue background

The Bearcats refers to the collective name of the University of Cincinnati's athletic program, notably their football and basketball programs. The mascot for the teams is a mix of a bear and a cat, but the name has a different origin. In 1914, the Bearcat was first seen as a combined effort from a student cartoonist and a cheerleader chant. The name is originally a play on words relating to team fullback Teddy Baehr, who was playing against the Kentucky Wildcats. Cheerleader Norman Lyon combined Baehr and Wildcat to create Bearcat. The chant imagery was then created from student cartoonist John Reece. The name would become popular among students, and eventually, the University would name their teams after it and create a mascot.

Orange background with navy blue text

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team representing Chicago, Illinois and competing for the National Football League. They were established in 1919 in Decatur, Illinois and moved to Chicago in 1921. They have a historic rivalry with the Green Bay Packers and their infamous mascot is Staley Da Bear. The Chicago Bears are often referred to as “Da Bears” and their team colors are orange, white, and navy blue. 

A navy blue background with white text, blue text with white outlines, and orange text. It contains an orange and navy blue bear roaring and a white diamond with blue lines intersecting it

The Chicago Bears, also known as Da Bears and Monsters of the Midway, are a professional football team who are members of the NFC North Division of the NFL (National Football League). Their franchise began in 1919 as the Decatur Staleys. Just a few years later in 1922 they became the Chicago Bears. They played at Wrigley Field through 1970, and then moved their home games to Soldier Field. During Super Bowl XX in 1986, the Bears were victorious over the New England Patriots 46-10. In 1990 when this button was made, the Bears were in the playoffs and took the NFC Central Title, but ultimately lost to the New York Giants.

Light-blue text appears on a white bar. Both the top and bottom of the button are also light blue.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University (in nearby Durham, North Carolina) have long been rival institutions. The intensity of this rivalry is especially seen when the two schools' basketball teams play each other. UNC's (the Tarheels) colors are white and light blue (as seen in this button), whereas Duke's (the Blue Devils) are white and dark blue.

A green and yellow background with white text surrounded by yellow and more white text surrounded by green. A black top hat is drawn above the text

This appears to be a rally button created for a sporting rivalry between two schools or teams.The colors and text suggest that this is most likely a show of support for North Dakota State Bison in an athletic competition against the University of Minnesota.

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Light green  and black text on a white background with a tennis player cartoon

The Nabisco Masters were tennis tournaments played on indoor carpet courts at Madison Square Garden in New York City and at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

The Masters was a series of the tennis season-climaxing tournaments begun in 1970 Tokyo that offered points for each win and cash bonuses for the leading finishers. It moved from city to city across the world and finally settled in New York in 1977, and stayed at Madison Square Garden through 1989. The format went on as the ATP tour world championship in Frankfort, Germany, in 1990.

Nabisco, from National Biscuit Company, was a sponsor for the Masters series from 1985-1989. Paine Webber, a stock brokerage firm, was also a sponsor of the Masters series, and was known for their ads inserted on the broadcasted matches.

White text over a dark green line over mistletoe on a red background

Bah Humbutton! is a play on the phrase Bah, Humbug! which is typically used to convey extreme displeasure and negativity. The phrase was coined in 1843 when it was used by Ebenezer Scrooge, the cranky old man in the movie A Christmas Carol.

Orange background with black text

This "Gimme candy or else" pinback was likely used during Halloween for trick-or-treaters.

The pinback was created by the Russ Berrie & Company Inc. which was founded in 1963 by a toy salesman named Russ Berrie. The company sold "impulse" items such as, mugs, small figurines, stuffed animals, greeting cards, and various other home accessories. The company's brands included: RUSS, Applause, Sassy, and Kids Line. In 1964, Berrie created his first line of manufactured novelty items. The first was a line of stuffed animals called Fuzzy Wuzzies and the second was a line of rubber dolls called the Bupkis Family. In 1992 one of the companies oldest product, trolls, spiked in popularity due to wild demand. In 2009 the company changed its corporate name to Kid Brands, Inc. and as of April 2011 The Russ Companies no longer exist as an entity.

White background with black text with a symbol resembling a Fleur-de-lis above the text

The Older Americans Act of 1965 was passed by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson in July of the same year. The act resulted in the creation of the national Administration on Aging as well as a program referred to as Area Agencies on Aging, which focused on providing local support and community planning for elders in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health. Agencies on Aging sprung up in cities around the country, including Lincoln, NE where this button was likely distributed. Although it's not certain if the buttons were put out by the Administration on Aging at-large or the local Lincoln-based agency, history seems to support the latter: some “Getting Better With Age,” buttons similar to the one seen here also include curl text revealing their creator as “Lincoln Area Agency on Aging, NE.”

Though the reasons for creating the buttons may never be known for certain, they may have been aimed at promoting healthcare for aging Americans or simply as a way to celebrate the beauty of old age. As of July 2025, the Lincoln Area Agency on Aging continues to support the elders in their community, now under the name Aging Partners (AP).