Evening star., 1947-10-05
by Leslie Iiebcr
Behind every base hit in the World
Series lies the skill of this little
one-sn,oke stack firm in Louisville, Ky.
where trees grow into baseball bats


IA stock in small e-smokestack firm they heard
of the Hlerich & Bradsby Company, of Louisville KY
The companys merchandise ranks with the hot dog the
jivng jukebox, and Walt Dsneys mouse as part of the
upholstery of life in the United States.
An amazing number of Office workers attend their grand
mothers funerals often 10 times year just watch
this merchandise in action On sweltemg afternoons these
mouners peanuts exchange condolences. and chant
psalms such as Get there bum along the st-base
line of large cemeteries like Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
Most of this devotion to grandma is directly aceabe to
Hllerch Bradsby who manufacture practically all big
league baseballs supply of bats.
For half century their famous Louisville Sugger
has been the spark plug of the base hit the wooden dynamite
behind the rally and often the wheash hope that went
down swinging every diamond classic from Mudvile
the present World Series.
Ted Brought His Own Tree
To-Day HIerch & Bradsby is the Lilly Dache of the ash
bludgeon The oompanys wares hand turned and tailor
made in 200 varieties of weight and shapeness for the
worlds fusest clientele the pna donnas of the box
Every spring basebaPs greatest performers flock to the
redbrick bat homestead try on the latest fashions An
appraisal of a model may include anything from
shifting the wood testing its clear xylophone
with flick of the thumb. Some perfectionsts search
of extra hitting punch bring their own logs.
Sometimes" declared harried plant foreman, you
can't the players for the forests they bring in Ted
Williams. Bostons famed lambaster salked through the
office at O'Clock morning with young Canadian tree
which, Ontario pulp-and-paper had assured him,
would ouwhack the American ash The promising inter-
national homerun cartel broken up by quick thinking
Hlerch Bradsby executive. I'VE convinced Ted that the
customs duty per circuit cout would be prohbtive he said
All Shapes and Sixes
BY the great majority of batsmen in this country how
satisfied with the wide selection of standard styles
available at the ex-tobacco warehouse Herich Bradsby
has bats in the basement bats several oors bats in its
behy The factory contains about 100000 suggers ready
take turn at the plate In addition there's backlog of
2OOOO 4Onch pieces of timber undergoing years
ing under sheds nearby nine-a1e lot.
The secretly powerzed" finished products include
toned color schemes with beige handles and brown
barrels for esec stars like Marty Marion and Del Rice of
the St. Louis Cardinals; skinny broomhandle witch sticks
like the Lew Fonseca used lead league Hene
Grohs fabulous wooden milk botte the stub that
hammered Wee Willie Keelers EN- where-they-
dictum into l9year batting average of 345 And if you
hoist it. there's basebals heaviest weapon the 5ounce
Louisville Sugger that coined $4,000 Babe Ruth
Even the Bambno couldn't swing this miniature pole as
he older BY the end of his the Babe had grad
uay cut down to 38 ounces still far heavier than the 35
ounce Rogers Hornsby model favored by over rs per
cent of major-league players.
Clean base hit is another way of saving that bat
Photograph by Hy Peskin