Hillerich & Bradsby Hillerich & Bradsby Hillerich & Bradsby Company (H&B) is a company located in Louisville, Kentucky that produces the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bat. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in downtown Louisville features a retrospective of the product and its use throughout baseball history. H&B also makes baseball gloves, golf clubs, golf gloves and other equipment (under the "PowerBilt" brand). In 2015, the company announced plans on March 23 to sell its Louisville Slugger division to sporting goods manufacturer Wilson Sporting Goods. J. F. Hillerich opened his woodworking shop in Louisville in 1855. During the 1880s, Hillerich hired his seventeen-year-old
Pete Browning in home runs, runs, hits and total bases. He was consistently among the league's top batters through 1888, winning a second batting crown in 1885 and hitting .402 in 1887. In 1884, he acquired his first custom-made bat from the Hillerich & Bradsby company, collecting three hits in his first game using it and beginning a baseball tradition. Twice in the decade, he hit for the cycle: on August 8, 1886, and again on June 7, 1889. He also led the league in hits, total bases and on-base percentage in 1885. After suffering from mastoiditis from a young age, which