LOUISVILLE SLUGGER, HISTORY OF THE BAT NAMED FOR PETE BROWNING

How many of us have used a Louisville Slugger? It’s a safe bet to say that most of us in our childhood have picked up one, at least once, if not thousands of times. It’s a brand that’s ingrained in all of us at a young age, but how many know the history of where the name of these bats come from? We visited Cave Hill Cemetery, in Louisville, Kentucky, to visit the grave of somebody quite famous, that many have never heard of, Louis Rogers “Pete” Browning, the Louisville Slugger. 

Pete Browning was born in 1861, in Louisville, Kentucky. His father was a grocer and was killed by a tornado when Pete was only 13-years-old. Pete continued living with his mother all his life, in the house that he grew up in. He played professional baseball from 1882, to 1894, and he played for several professional leagues and teams, such as the Louisville Eclipse, the Louisville Colonels, and the Cleveland Infants. He also played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenies, which became the Pirates, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, which became the Reds, the St. Louis Browns, which became the Cardinals, and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. You read that right, “Bridegrooms”. They changed their name to the Dodgers. 

Pete was known for his hitting skills, and he never batted under .300. His lifetime average was .341, which ranks fifth in history for a right handed batter. He’s the only one in the Top 10, besides Shoeless Joe Jackson, not in the Hall of Fame. His claim to fame is that he was the first person to have bats made specifically for him. In 1884, a 17-year-old boy named Bud Hillerich skipped out of work to take in a baseball game. He saw Pete Browning, known as the “Louisville Slugger”, break his bat, and Pete was in a slump. Bud offered to make Pete a new bat at his dad’s woodworking shop. The next day, Pete used the new bat, broke his slump, and got three hits. From then on, everyone wanted one of those bats and the Louisville Slugger brand was born! 

Pete suffered from a medical condition that left him deaf, and he had severe headaches since he was a boy. He started heavily drinking to deal with the pain, even when he was just a kid. As a baseball player, he was suspended several times for drunkenness on the field, but it never affected his hitting skills. Pete often joked, “I can’t hit the ball, until I hit the bottle”. He was full of quirks and he gave his bats biblical names, and when he felt they deserved it, he retired them. He stared at the sun to make his eyes stronger, and he stuck his head out the window of trains, and said the cinders would cleanse his eyes. 

After retirement, he became a cigar salesman and of course, owned a bar. His health soon failed so bad that in 1905, he was committed into an insane asylum. His sister had him released two weeks later, but he was hospitalized a month after returning home. Pete died at a young age of 44, from various illnesses including cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, and alcohol related brain damage. He died much too young, but his legacy lives on in the hands of millions around the world.

Be sure to check out our video below from Pete’s grave.

-Col. Russ Carson, Jr., Founder, Family Tree Nuts