[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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