Hillerich & Bradsby Hillerich woodworking shop. J. F. Hillerich was uninterested in making bats; he saw the company future in stair railings, porch columns and swinging butter churns. In fact, for a brief time in the 1880s, he even turned away ball players. Bud, however, saw the potential in producing baseball bats, and the elder Hillerich eventually relented to his son. The bats were sold under the name "Falls City Slugger" until Bud Hillerich took over his father's company in , and the name "Louisville Slugger" was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. In , Honus Wagner signed a deal with the company,
Pete Browning management, prefacing the formation and collapse of the Players' League. In 1984, a new grave marker was dedicated for Pete Browning, one that correctly spelled his name and listed all his major baseball achievements. The new marker was the idea of Philip Von Borries, who wrote the copy for the new marker and who also co-designed the marker. The ceremonies, jointly held by the city of Louisville and the Hillerich & Bradsby Company, came during the company's centennial celebration of their famed Louisville Slugger bat (of which Browning is the namesake). There was a Browning's Restaurant & Brewery adjacent to