1936 Masters Player Badge

        For the first four years of its existence, the Masters Tournament was officially called the "Augusta National Invitation Tournament." In truth, most people called it "the Masters" even before the official name change at the 1938 Masters Tournament. From a collector's perspective, memorabilia from those first four Masters Tournaments are exceedingly scarce. And for some reason, memorabilia from Horton Smith's 2nd victory at the 1936 Masters Tournament are the rarest of the rare. No program was produced in 1936, and only a couple tickets still exist. Due to a cult-like admiration for Horton Smith and items from the early Masters Tournament, the scarcity of 1936 Masters Tournament memorabilia leads to much frustration for collectors.

        Presented here is unquestionably the most significant piece of 1936 Masters Tournament memorabilia that has ever surfaced. This is an official 1936 Masters Tournament player badge; to our knowledge, the only example known. Only 45 golfers competed in the 1936, so if only 45 of these Player Badges were produced in 1936, it's not surprising that no others have surfaced 78 years later. In fact, Augusta National does not even own any 1936 badges in its vast collection.

        This 1936 Masters Tournament player badge #12, which was issued to Alvin Krueger. Krueger finished T-36, 2 shots behind Bobby Jones.

        This piece is being consigned today by Krueger's nephew. It has been passed down in the family ever since the 1936 Masters Tournament, and has never been offered or even displayed publicly until today.