Hillerich & Bradsby Hillerich woodworking shop. J. F. Hillerich was uninterested in making bats; he saw the company future in stair railings, porch columns and swinging butter churns. In fact, for a brief time in the 1880s, he even turned away ball players. Bud, however, saw the potential in producing baseball bats, and the elder Hillerich eventually relented to his son. The bats were sold under the name "Falls City Slugger" until Bud Hillerich took over his father's company in , and the name "Louisville Slugger" was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. In , Honus Wagner signed a deal with the company,
South Louisville South Louisville South Louisville is a neighborhood two miles south of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, US. "South Louisville" or "South Side" is also used to describe the entire area of Southern Louisville. The neighborhood itself is bounded by Industry Road, the CSX railroad tracks, Central Avenue, Taylor Boulevard, Longfield Avenue and 3rd Street. The world-famous Churchill Downs horse racing track and Kentucky Derby Museum are located in South Louisville. The area was originally owned by the Churchill family and was developed as streetcar lines extended southward to the area in the 1870s. The population grew greatly in the 1890s as many