1930s Masters Tournament
Employee Badge of Otis Warner

Items from the first four Masters Tournaments, when it was still called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, are coveted by collectors due to their extreme rarity. At the time, the tournament was far from a guaranteed success. In fact, the only reason any players attended, or spectators showed up, was due to Bobby Jones coming out of retirement and playing competitively again. 

Offered here is a likely unique Augusta National Employee Badge from one of the first Masters Tournaments - sometime between 1934 to 1937. And even more amazing, it still includes the original employee name tag - Otis Warner. We first uncovered this gem in 2005 when a previously unknown hoard of early Masters items were found in the box of an old home in Augusta, Georgia. This badge was discovered alongside several other Masters Tournament items from the 1930s, including several badges from the 1936 Masters Tournament. Though this badge never seemed to fit with the other 1936 Masters badges, leading us to believe that it is from a different year. Also, since it is an Employee Badge, it very well may have been used by Otis Warner for more than one tournament. Additionally, our consignor, the foremost Masters Badge collector in the world, believes the badge to date to the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934 due to its unique color showing similarities to other 1934 Masters items. Unfortunately, Augusta National does not have a similar badge in its collection, and kept no accurate records of badges in the 1930s. So here we are 11 years after this badge was unearthed, and we're still left with unanswered questions.

We did discover one key piece of information, however. Otis Warner was caddie at Augusta National in 1934 for the inaugural Masters Tournament. According to one longtime Augusta National caddie "Bull", Otis Warner was there for the 1st Masters Tournament, but remained an employee at Augusta National for only "a few years". Otis Warner passed away in 2001 at the age of 88.