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 &
S. Schwab Company S. Schwab Company S. Schwab Company was an apparel design and marketing company specializing in high-end clothing for infants and toddlers. The company was known for its "Little Me" branded clothing line sold in many large department stores such as Macy's, Nordstrom, and Lord & Taylor. S. Schwab Company was started by Sam Schwab who immigrated to the US from France in the early 1900s to New York. Schwab later started a clothing manufacturing business in the city of New York City, NY selling imported shawls, sweaters and other garments that were further enhanced in Cumberland using hand embroidery technique