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,
Louisville Slugger Field building, which was formerly the Brinly-Hardy Co. warehouse. The Main Street side of the building includes exterior access to a microbrewery and restaurant located within the facility, as well as a statue of Louisville native and Baseball Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese. The Witherspoon Street entrance, diagonally situated from Waterfront Park includes a statue of football Hall of Famer, Paul Hornung. While the full capacity of the park is 13,131, the capacity for soccer matches is normally restricted to 8,000 due to less-than-optimal sightlines for that sport. Louisville Slugger Field Louisville Slugger Field is a baseball stadium in Louisville,