History of Louisville, Kentucky charter member. While the Grays were a relatively short-lived team, playing for only two years, they began a much longer lasting relationship between the city and baseball. In 1883, John "Bud" Hillerich made his first baseball bat from white ash in his father's wood shop. The first bat was produced for Pete "The Gladiator" Browning of the Louisville Eclipse (minor league team). The bats eventually become known by the popular name, "Louisville Slugger", and the local company Hillerich & Bradsby rapidly became one of the largest manufacturers of baseball bats and other sporting equipment in the world. Today, Hillerich &
Louisville City FC sections 121–123 of Slugger Field behind the Preston Street goal. Louisville City's main league and regional rivals are FC Cincinnati, Saint Louis FC, and Indy Eleven. Louisville City FC played and won its first professional match 2–0 against Saint Louis FC on opening day of the 2015 USL season. Since then the two sides have fostered a friendly rivalry for the King's Cup. The annual rivalry with FC Cincinnati for the Dirty River Derby, also known as "River Cities Cup", is one of the most hotly contested matches in lower division US soccer. The two cities are located a mere