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,
Brinly-Hardy Company Between 1980 and 1984, Brinly-Hardy shifted its current focus to manufacturing lawn care equipment. In 1996, James E. Hardy’s great-great granddaughter, Jane W. Hardy, became CEO of Brinly-Hardy Company. And in 1999, the company moved its facilities across the Ohio River to Jeffersonville, Indiana to make room for Louisville Slugger field. In August 2008, Brinly-Hardy acquired Spyker Spreaders, manufacturers of commercial-grade broadcast spreaders and outdoor power equipment. Brinly-Hardy products are distributed and sold throughout the United States at local retailers and chain home improvement stores such as Home Depot as well as online retail outlets like Amazon. Brinly-Hardy Company Brinly-Hardy