Used by Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig and
countless other baseball legends, the Louisville Slugger is as
famous as the great ballplayers themselves and comes with an origin story just as legendary.
In 1864, J. Fredrick Hillerich, a German immigrant and woodworker, opened a woodworking shop in Louisville, Kentucky. Hillerich’s shop thrived in the city and when the time came, his eldest son, John Andrew "Bud" joined him as an apprentice.
Bud had a passion for baseball and when he was not working in his father’s shop, he was playing or watching the game. During an 1884 Louisville Eclipse baseball game, a seventeen-year-old Bud watched as player Pete Browning's bat broke while he was at the plate. After the game, Bud offered to make him a replacement. Using Bud's bat during his next game, Browning had three hits, ending a long slump.
In 1864, J. Fredrick Hillerich, a German immigrant and woodworker, opened a woodworking shop in Louisville, Kentucky. Hillerich’s shop thrived in the city and when the time came, his eldest son, John Andrew "Bud" joined him as an apprentice.
Bud had a passion for baseball and when he was not working in his father’s shop, he was playing or watching the game. During an 1884 Louisville Eclipse baseball game, a seventeen-year-old Bud watched as player Pete Browning's bat broke while he was at the plate. After the game, Bud offered to make him a replacement. Using Bud's bat during his next game, Browning had three hits, ending a long slump.
Made of white ash and handcrafted, Bud’s bats continued to grow in popularity with local ballplayers. Despite the fact that his father wasn’t interested in making baseball bats and thought the future of the business was in more traditional items like bed posts and their patented swinging butter churn, Bud continued to craft the bats; and it was only a matter of time until the bats were getting attention from professional players.
By 1894 Bud and his father, realizing his son's enthusiasm and the potential of a future in bat manufacturing, registered and trademarked their baseball bats ("Louisville Sluggers") with the U.S. government.
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| courtesy of Lisa Padilla'sPhotostream |
More than 125 years after Bud made his first bat, Hillerich & Bradby Co.'s Louisville Slugger is the best
known baseball bat in the game.
For more information about Louisville Sluggers, visit www.slugger.com or www.sluggermuseum.com. You can visit the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory during the AAMSE Annual Conference in Louisville this summer.
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