Baseball fans can spend hours debating who is the greatest player of all time. While that spirited conversation may have no resolution, Hake’s can answer an important question about baseball collecting: what is the rarest Babe Ruth button?

In their current premier event, Hake’s Auctions is selling a 1916 Boston Red Sox American League/World’s Champions with Babe Ruth advertising button. Its 6-inch diameter makes it the largest baseball button made up to that point in history. It is also the only known example.

Adding to the button’s mystique, it features the Boston Red Sox while advertising beer in Detroit. The large button shows headshots of 24 Red Sox players, including Babe Ruth, and their manager Bill Carrigan. Text on the button reads “World Champions 1916,” “Boston Red Sox American League,” and at the center “Drink Alpen Brau, Detroit’s Champion Beer.” This exceptionally rare piece comes from the Paul Muchinsky Collection.

During the period of 1910-1919, only three teams represented the American League in the World Series. The Boston Red Sox took that honor in ’12, ’15, ’16, and ’18 – winning all four years.

“A few buttons were made following their 1912 World Championship,” the Hake’s auction description reads. “In 1915 came the most attractive Red Sox World Series buttons. Both the buttons and/or accompanying beautiful ribbons referred to the ‘Royal Rooters.’ It was also following the 1915 World Series that they were referred to on one button (as well as a pennant) as the Boston Red ‘Sox’s.’ The term contains a double linguistic error: there is no plural of ‘Sox’ and the apostrophe makes no sense.”

“To the best of our knowledge, this button of their third World Championship is the only one that was made (just as only one button was made of the [Philadelphia] Athletics third World Championship). Finally, there is no known button of the 1918 World Series. This is most likely due to the national crisis at the time. The United States was in its second year of fighting WWI. The national edict was ‘Work or Fight.’ The 1918 baseball season was abruptly halted on September 1, 1918. The two teams in first place at the time were declared League Champions,” the description continues. “The Boston Red Sox went on to defeat the Chicago Cubs in a poorly attended World Series. Button makers in Philadelphia made all of the buttons of the Athletics. Button makers in Boston made all of the buttons of the Red Sox, except one. This one, further adding to the uniqueness and allure of this wonderful keepsake.”

The fully detailed description is available on Hake’s website. Auction #230 is now open for bids and will close on Wednesday and Thursday, September 23-24, 2020 at hakes.com.