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 (magazine) publisher and editor. As a part of the new ownership the television station pages were dropped. The company making the magazine is now known as Louisville Magazine, Inc, and is independent from the city. In 2018, "Louisville Magazine" was sold to Matthew Barzun. Louisville (magazine) Louisville Magazine is distributed in the Louisville area. It covers local business and culture. Founded in March 1950 by the Louisville Chamber of Commerce to replace the "Board of Trade Journal". The magazine was printed quarterly and its subscribers consisted of mainly Chamber of Commerce members as a part of membership dues. The magazine would