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 Ballet Louisville Ballet The Louisville Ballet is a ballet school and company based in Louisville, Kentucky and is the official state ballet of The Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is currently led by Artistic and Executive Director Robert Curran. More than 100,000 people attend the company's productions annually of which most are accompanied by the Louisville Orchestra. The company performs at three venues in the city, The Brown Theatre, The Kentucky Center, and, rarely, The Louisville Palace. The Louisville Ballet was founded in 1952 and it achieved professional status and admitted its first students in 1975. It is the only regional company