[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 30, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H10088-H10090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING HILLERICH & BRADSBY CO. ON 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF LOUISVILLE
SLUGGER
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 314) honoring and saluting Hillerich & Bradsby
Co. on the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
[[Page H10089]]
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 314
Whereas John Andrew ``Bud'' Hillerich made the first
Louisville Slugger, originally known as the ``Falls City
Slugger'', for Pete ``The Old Gladiator'' Browning of the
Louisville Eclipse in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1884;
Whereas Hillerich & Bradsby Co. is a fifth-generation,
family-owned company celebrating its 125th anniversary;
Whereas today the Louisville Slugger is the Official Bat of
Major League Baseball, having had more than 8,500
professional baseball players under contract, beginning in
1905 with Honus Wagner, and including Hall of Fame members
such as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Stan
Musial, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente,
Hank Aaron, and Louisville's own Pee Wee Reese;
Whereas Hillerich & Bradsby Co. has made over 100,000,000
Louisville Slugger bats in 125 years and currently makes
approximately 1,800,000 bats, including souvenir bats,
yearly;
Whereas 80 percent of National Baseball Hall of Fame
hitters were under contract with Louisville Slugger;
Whereas 60 percent of today's Major League Baseball players
use Louisville Slugger bats;
Whereas since 1884, Hillerich & Bradsby Co. has expanded
production to include aluminum bats, the PowerBilt golf club,
baseball and softball gloves and mitts, hockey sticks, and a
variety of anatomical and ergonomic gloves;
Whereas in 1996, Hillerich & Bradsby Co. opened the
Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, the first museum
devoted to hitters, including executive offices, wood bat
plant, and a world class museum, in downtown Louisville, just
10 blocks away from where Bud Hillerich made the first
Louisville Slugger in 1884; and
Whereas the Louisville Slugger name is synonymous with
baseball, evoking excitement and nostalgia among ball players
of all ages and skill levels: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) congratulates and salutes Hillerich & Bradsby Co. on
the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger; and
(2) directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to
make available enrolled copies of this resolution to
Hillerich & Bradsby Co. for appropriate display.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of House Resolution 314, honoring and
saluting Hillerich & Bradsby Co. on the 125th anniversary of the
Louisville Slugger. Louisville Slugger, as the company is more commonly
known, is widely considered an American icon, with a long and treasured
record throughout baseball history. But Hillerich & Bradsby Co. began
as a little-known small business, just like many small businesses in
America today. Only after many years of dedication and refined work did
the Louisville Slugger become the cherished bat of countless Americans.
Since its inception, Hillerich & Bradsby has produced approximately
100 million Louisville Sluggers, and currently makes roughly 1.8
million bats a year. Today, the Louisville Slugger is the official bat
of Major League Baseball and is used by 60 percent of today's Major
League Baseball players. It has also been used by 80 percent of all
National Baseball Hall of Fame hitters such as Babe Ruth, Mickey
Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and Hank Aaron. It's
virtually impossible to witness a ball game and not see a Louisville
Slugger bat in use.
I'm pleased to join my colleagues today in congratulating Hillerich &
Bradsby Co. on the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TERRY. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in saluting Hillerich & Bradsby Co. on the 125th
anniversary of the Louisville Slugger. It has been 125 years since Bud
Hillerich crafted the very first Louisville Slugger for Pete Browning
of the Louisville Eclipse. Since that time, the Louisville Slugger has
sold more than 100 million bats, making it without question the most
popular bat brand in baseball history.
The Louisville Slugger continues to dominate the game in both wood
and aluminum bat categories, with 60 percent of all Major League
players currently using the Louisville Slugger. Because the average
Major League Baseball player goes through more than 100 bats in a
season, each year more than 1 million bats are made at its factory in
Louisville. At the factory's peak production, they are able to produce
1,500 bats to a specific player's request per day.
The factory in downtown Louisville is much more than just your
average factory and carries with it an air of tradition and nostalgia
from Hall of Fame players like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and even
today's pros like Kevin Youkilis and Derek Jeter.
In 1996, the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory was opened to the
public, and it's hard to miss the museum's 120-foot-tall Louisville
Slugger that leans onto the brick building. Once inside of the museum,
tourists are able to witness the entire process of creating a wooden
bat from northern white ash or maple, test different model bats in a
batting cage, and read about the history of players from the past.
{time} 1200
In recent years, Louisville Slugger has gone far beyond bats,
providing performance technology in the form of fielding and batting
gloves, helmets, catchers' gear, equipment bags, training aids and
accessories. In addition to its on-field performance products,
Louisville Slugger offers personalized, miniature, commemorative and
collectible bats. Perhaps we'll see one here soon. I would like to
commend the Hillerich & Bradsby Company on their 125th anniversary of
the Louisville Slugger and applaud the great success they've had with
on-field performance products.
I would also like to recognize Congressman Yarmuth of Kentucky for
his work on this resolution and hope that many more vacationers will
enjoy the museum and factory tour experience. I stand in support of
this legislation and hope that my colleagues will join me.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the sponsor of the
legislation, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth).
Mr. YARMUTH. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey, and I also thank
the gentleman from Nebraska for his kind remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of a genuine American icon,
a piece of history that was instrumental in the development of the
great American pastime, a tool that helped make ballplayers into folk
heroes, and a treasure that gave every kid with a dream the chance to
hold a piece of the big leagues in their very hands.
Today we consider H. Res. 314, a resolution to commemorate the 125th
anniversary of the Louisville Slugger, the official bat of Major League
Baseball, manufactured by Hillerich & Bradsby in their beautiful
factory in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The Louisville Slugger is
synonymous with the crack of the bat on a summer afternoon, and it is
forever linked to the greatest who ever played the game of baseball.
Eighty percent of the inductees in the Baseball Hall of Fame swung a
Louisville Slugger, 60 percent of all Major Leaguers do the same today.
On the label of every Louisville Slugger is the number 125 because
the wood from white ash trees grown in Pennsylvania and New York, wood
known for its strength and resiliency, is graded at 125. Now that
number takes on additional significance, marking 125 years since the
first Louisville Slugger was produced.
The story goes that back in 1884, Pete Browning, the star player on
the Louisville Eclipse baseball club, broke his bat in the middle of a
hitting slump. Then 17-year-old Bud Hillerich invited Browning back to
his father's woodworking shop with a promise of a new hand-crafted bat.
Hillerich's creation suited Browning perfectly, and Browning had three
hits the very next game, bragging about his fortune to his teammates
who soon swarmed Hillerich's woodworking shop to get a bat of their
own. After a little persuading, Bud Hillerich convinced his father to
focus
[[Page H10090]]
on bat-making full time, and the company made the change from producing
stair rails and butter churns to Louisville Sluggers.
Thousands of ballplayers of every age have since swung the Louisville
Slugger at every level of the game, including many of the all-time
greats: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Jackie
Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and Louisville's own, Pee Wee
Reese.
Each player specified the measurements for the bat they wanted, and
Louisville Slugger developed a unique model that was their own. Ted
Williams, one of the greatest hitters of all time, personally traveled
to the factory in Louisville throughout his career to pick out his
bats. Not by coincidence, he broke the coveted .400 batting average
barrier in three seasons and had a career average of .344. Ted
acknowledged that he had a little help, famously saying, ``I would have
been a .290 hitter without Louisville Slugger.''
This resolution is a commemoration of the legacy of the Louisville
Slugger but also the success of Hillerich & Bradsby, a company that
remains committed to Louisville after 125 years. That commitment
translates into a lasting impact on our region, with the jobs the
company creates at its factory and museum and the economic benefit that
comes from thousands of visitors who travel to Louisville every year to
see the place where the Slugger is made. Louisvillians take great pride
in the fact that the slugger is created in our own backyard, and all of
us should take great pride in a company that was built 125 years ago on
the American spirit of entrepreneurship and is, itself, now one of our
great American icons.
I am honored to celebrate the legacy of the Louisville Slugger and
the Hillerich & Bradsby Company, and I urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting this resolution.
Mr. TERRY. I think for the TV viewers, it's important to note that
Mr. Yarmuth isn't that short. It's that the bat is that big.
Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Having no additional speakers, Mr. Speaker, I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cuellar). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 314.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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