Louisville Slugger

Advertisement for Louisville Slugger bats from the 1930s featuring some of the big names from the era

Louisville Slugger is the most iconic bat used by baseball players. The Louisville Slugger brand of bats is used by sixty percent of major league hitters and sold over 100 million bats from its founding until 2015. The bat is named after Pete Browning, a hitting star for the Louisville Colonels in the 19th century. For 130 years, the bats were manufactured by the Hillerich & Bradsby company, based in Louisville, KY, but on March 23, 2015, the brand was sold to the rival Wilson Sporting Goods company.

Another era ended on June 26th when Danny Luckett, the company's last employee who knew how to shape a bat by hand, retired after 46 years with the company. The production was now entirely automated, and he was the last link to an era when all bats were made by hand.

The Louisville Slugger Museum is located next to the factory in Louisville and features some of the most famous models made by the company over the years.

The brand also sponsors several annual awards - most notably the Silver Slugger Award. It also chooses Louisville Slugger All-American teams.

Further Reading

• Ray Glier: "Louisville Slugger losing grip as bat of choice", USA Today Sports, October 1, 2013 [1]
• David Magee and Philip A. Shirley: Sweet Spot: Years of Baseball and the Louisville Slugger, Triumph Books, Chicago, IL, 2009.
• Grace Schneider: "Louisville Slugger brand sold to Wilson for $70M", USA Today, March 23, 2015. [2]
• Tim Sullivan: "Era ends with bat maker's retirement", USA Today, June 26, 2015. [3]

Related Sites

• Official Site