[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 52 (Thursday, March 26, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S3891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO LOUISVILLE SLUGGER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a fine 
Louisville product that is recognizable around the world and to the 
wonderful company behind it that is still knocking it out of the park 
after 125 years. Hillerich & Bradsby Co., makers of the famous 
Louisville Slugger, has made over 100 million bats since 1884.
  Legend has it that the company's first bat was made by 17-year-old 
John A. ``Bud'' Hillerich in his father, J.F. Hillerich's, woodworking 
shop, after local baseball star Pete Browning broke his bat. Bud 
invited him to the shop and handcrafted a new one on a steam-powered 
lathe.
  The next day, after Browning got three hits in three at bats, 
baseball players from all over the region began to visit the Hillerich 
shop. From this, the Louisville Slugger was born.
  The company has remained family owned for five generations, and in 
that time has become the most iconic brand in the game of baseball. 
Players from T-ball to the Major Leagues all have used Louisville 
Sluggers, including such greats as Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie 
Robinson, and Babe Ruth. Ruth personally gave bat makers at the company 
specifications for the Louisville Slugger bats he would use to hit his 
record 60 home runs.
  In 1996, after operating elsewhere, Louisville Slugger baseball bats 
came home to Louisville, as Hillerich & Bradsby Co. placed their 
executive offices, wood bat plant, and a museum in downtown Louisville, 
just 10 blocks away from where Bud Hillerich made the first Louisville 
Slugger in 1884. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is now one of 
the major tourist attractions of Louisville, with more than 2 million 
visitors since its opening.
  If any of my colleagues happen to be in Louisville, my hometown, and 
want to visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, it is very easy 
to find. Just look for the 120-foot-long giant Louisville Slugger bat 
that marks the building's entrance. Every kid in town knows where to 
find the world's biggest bat and knows it marks the spot where you can 
tour the factory and actually see a Louisville Slugger being made. 
Today, Hillerich & Bradsby Co. manufactures more than 1 million wood 
bats a year, as well as aluminum bats, for professional and amateur 
use.
  For millions of fans, the word ``Louisville'' will always evoke the 
satisfying crack of a bat and the celebration of a home run. This is 
thanks to the Louisville Slugger. The 2009 baseball season marks the 
Louisville Slugger's 125th anniversary, and I know all my colleagues 
join me in congratulating Hillerich & Bradsby Co. for 125 years of 
success in baseball, our national pastime.

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