A man with a red face, brown hair, and headband with a brown feather. Brown text on top and bottom portion of button. Illustration and text lies on a white background. 

Though existing for many years prior, in 1915 the modern Cleveland Indians baseball team was formed. The first documented use of a Native American chief as their mascot occurred in 1928, this general depiction was redesigned in 1929, 1933, and 1939 and remained in use until it was decided in 1946 that the logo needed to be changed. It was at that point when this caricature, later named Chief Wahoo, was adopted by the team. The logo was designed by 17 year old Walter Goldbach.  This particular image was in use from 1946 to 1950 when it was changed to the modern depiction of Chief Wahoo.

There is some controversy surrounding the logo, many feel that it is racially insensitive and should be changed while others feel that it is honoring Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American professional baseball player. Sockalexis played for Cleveland during the 1897-1899 seasons. There is some debate over the accuracy of Sockalexis being the source of the name at all, given it was adopted 16 years after his short career ended. Currently the modern version of Chief Wahoo is still in use by the team.

Two black stripes on the top and bottom with one large red stripe in the middle. The red stripe contains the words "Clarion Fights" which are in bold black letters. 

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Black text on a blue background with a baseball head on a body running with a red bat.

Established in 1881, the Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio and members of the National League Central Division.  The original logo consisted of the word “REDS” inside a wishbone “C” on a red and white color scheme.  During the 1950s, the Reds went through renaming and rebranding of the team as the Cincinnati Redlegs to avoid connections to the communist term ‘Reds.’   They added in the color blue along with their mascot Mr. Redlegs, a humanoid figure in a Reds uniform and an oversized baseball for a head with a large handlebar mustache. 

A blue background with white and red stripes crossing the middle horizontally. In the center is a blue circle with another white circle in that. In the white circle is red and blue text

One of the oldest sports franchises in US history, the Chicago Cubs have been continually playing in the same city since 1870. Their logo has changed many times over the year, starting as a Old English C. The C shape changed several times over the years, sometimes represented with a bear or 'ubs' inside the C to create the team name. This logo came into use in 1979 when a thicker blue circle was introduced to replace the thin blue circle that was used from 1957-1978.  

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

A white background featuring the Chicago Blackhawks logo, a profile of a face with black hair, war paint, and red, green, yellow, and orange feathers

One of the original 6 National Hockey League teams, the Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks prior to 1986) have won a total of 5 Stanley Cups since their creation in 1926, with the 5th win in the 2012/13 season. The Blackhawks logo has stayed very similar over the years. In the beginning it was black and white, then a colored face with a black background surrounded by a large circle with the words "Black Hawks Chicago" inside the ring. In 1941 the first generation of the current logo was introduced. Over the years the picture of the Native American brave changed, in 1955 the feathers were colored in, his skin became lighter. In 1965 the outer ring was dropped from the logo, leaving just the face. Since 1965 the logo has not changed much beyond the facial features becoming softer, a less sloping forehead and smaller nose, as well as the skin becoming darker and less yellow.

Over the past few years, the logo has been assessed for its representation of Native peoples. The team consulted with the American Indian Center of Chicago in 2013 where they came to the conclusion that because the logo depicts a famous Illinois native--Chief Blackhawk--it can be seen as honoring a man rather than pushing stereotypes about Native Americans. 

Blue text on a white background with two blue horizontal lines and one orange horizontal line with a blue football helmet with an orange C.

One of only 2 teams left from the founding members of the National Football League, the Chicago Bears (formerly the Decatur Staleys 1919-1921) logo has remained fairly steady over their 96 year history. Keeping their colours of blue, orange and white from the earliest days, the blue helmet base colour has been in place continually since the 1936 season. Adopting a solid white wishbone shaped C as their logo in 1962, in 1973 it changed to the logo we know today, an orange C bordered in white.

From 1982-2011, the helmets were blue with the orange and white C and a blue face mask. Prior to 1982, the facemask was silver. After 2011, the face mask changed designs and no longer had the swooping dip to protect the ears and jaw, adopting a straighter line.

Green text on a yellow background

Lane Technical College Prep High School located in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in 1908. The campus has an enrollment of just over 4,000 students, grades 7-12. Lane Tech's colors are green and gold, and their mascot is the Indians (which has been much debated in recent years, but still remains unchanged).

One of Lane Tech's biggest rivals, Carl Schurz High School, also located in Chicago, was founded in 1910. It was designed by Dwight H. Perkins and designated a Chicago Landmark on December 7, 1979. Schurz is a public high school with an enrollment of about 2,500 students. Schurz's colors are purple and gold, and their mascot is the Bulldog. 

This button is in Lane Tech's colors, green and gold, to support the Indians in their game against the Schurz Bulldogs.

Shaped like a football, it is gold in color and resembles a football in design. There is dark red text surrounding a clear space where a name tag would be seen. Connected to the button are one gold and one red ribbon

The 1962 Rose Bowl took place on January 1, 1962 and was between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the UCLA Bruins. It was an unusual game because the Big Ten conference winner, Ohio State, declined to play. The invitation was then extended to the number two team, Minnesota. The game was the first college football game to be broadcast nationally in color. Minnesota defeated the Bruins 21-3. This was Minnesota's only Rose Bowl appearance, making them the Big Ten team with the longest time since a playing in the Rose Bowl. Sandy Stephens, the Minnesota quarterback, was named MVP for the game, becoming the first African American to win the award.

A white background with red text, it also features a blue and white baseball swooping in and an MLB emblem

Founded in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings, the team changed their name to the Chicago Cubs for the 1907 season. The Chicago Cubs are one of the longest running baseball franchises in the United States. The popularity of the phrase 'Cub Power' comes from a 1969 song called  "Hey Hey! Holy Mackerel! (The Cubs Song)", which is referencing the catch phrases from the Cubs' announcers Vince Lloyd, who was known for saying "holy mackerel" during particularly exciting or dramatic plays. Several members of the Cubs baseball team recorded an album titled Cub Power with a cover of the song, increasing it's popularity and cementing it in part of the Cubs lore.

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

Illustration of a hand with the index finger pointing up and blue text on a white background

Central Webster was a K12 school located in Iowa that opened in the 1980's to consolidate students from schools that had closed in the Lehigh, Harcourt, and Burnside communities. The school's mascot was the Eagles and their colors were grey and white.  After many district consolidations and school sharing programs in the mid to late 1980's and then again in the 1990's, the school was separated into Elementary, Middle, and High School. In 2000 the name was changed to Southeast Webster Grand. The new mascot is the Jaguars.