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 Stoneware Louisville Stoneware Louisville Stoneware, previously known as Louisville Pottery, is located in the Highlands section of Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1815, making it one of the oldest stoneware companies in the United States, it creates fanciful stoneware that is nationally renowned. It specializes in decorating its pottery with Kentucky Derby and Christmas themes, but it has other themes as well: Noah's Ark, Primrose, and Pear being examples. They can also create personalized items. Besides pottery, they have made bird baths and bird feeders. The JB Taylor Company was founded in 1815 in Louisville, Kentucky. But it was not owned by