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 Slugger Field the International League All-Stars, 6–5, in front of a sellout crowd. On July 8, 2009, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson held a concert at the ballpark. In March 2015, Louisville City FC became the stadium's second major tenant. The team plays in the United Soccer League, which at the time occupied the third division of U.S. professional soccer but has now been elevated to second-division status. On August 1, 2008 a record crowd of 18,543 people attended a concert by Dave Matthews Band. The design of Louisville Slugger Field is a joint effort of HNTB Architects of Kansas