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 &
Butchertown, Louisville formerly residential areas. Suburbanization continued to bring the residential areas into decline, until the few remaining residents began lobbying for rezoning (the entire area was zoned as industrial), and fixing up vacant and underrepaired houses. Since the 1990s the area has attracted many young professionals. In recent years, the east Market Street area of downtown Louisville has seen a great deal of revitalization, including the expansion of Waterfront Park, Louisville Slugger Field, and the conversion of empty store fronts into new condominiums. This has helped spur further improvements in Butchertown itself, as many new antique shops and art galleries have