“It takes a whole nine to put me out between the bases.” ~ Pete Browning
Louis Rogers “Pete” Browning is not a household name as baseball players go. He was born on June 17, 1861, and died on September 10, 1905, calling Louisville, KY his home throughout his life. He was an outfielder, center, and left fields, who batted and threw right-handed. Pete made is major league debut on May 2, 1882, for the Louisville Eclipse and made his final appearance on September 30, 1894, for the Brooklyn Grooms. He was nicknamed, “Gladiator” and “The Louisville Slugger”.
(Tobacco card of Pete Browning. Public Domain)
Browning played for the Louisville Eclipse / Colonels (1882-1889), the Cleveland Infants (1890), the Pittsburg Pirates (1891), the Cincinnati Reds (1891-1892), Louisville Colonels (1892-1893), the St. Louis Browns (1894) and the Brooklyn Grooms (1894). He finished his career with a .341 batting average, 46 home runs and 659 runs batted in. He was the American Associations batting champ in 1882 and 1885 when he also was the hits leader. In the only year of the Player’s League, 1890, he was the batting champion and lead the league in doubles. Most of his career was played prior to 1893 which meant pitchers were throwing form 50 feet rather then the now standard of 60 feet, 6 inches.
Browning suffered from Mastoiditis which resulted in his loss of hearing at an early age. It can also cause vertigo, facial palsy, and brain damage. Pete began drinking in his youth to deal with the headaches and continued throughout his life. He was suspended for two months during the 1889 season for his drunkenness and several times for shorter durations in other seasons.
Pete may have been an earlier version on Mark “The Bird” Fidrych as he named his bats and spoke to them. He felt each bat only contained so many hits, so he’d “retire” then periodically. His bats typically were 48 ounces and 37 inches long, huge even for the standards of the time. Browning never married and was reputed to enjoy the pleasures of “ladies of the evening” per newspaper reports. After he retired from baseball he worked as a cigar salesman and owned a bar for a short period of time. He died at age 44. He suffered from cirrhosis of the liver, cancer, and most likely alcohol-related brain damage. He is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
So, you’re probably thinking, why is Coach Mike writing about this guy? While an exceptional hitter, and by some accounts an above average fielder (when sober?) his career was solid, for an era prior to “modern times”. Even his “personal” story is most likely not an uncommon one for the times. Well, it has to do with one event which occurred in July 1884 and this event has had an historical impact on the game.
Apparently Browning broke a bat in a home game which was attended by one, J.A. “Bud” Hillerich, the teenage son of J.F. Hillerich who owned a woodworking / furniture shop. Bud invited Pete to his father’s shop and a bat was crafted to his specifications. The first day he used it, he had three hits breaking out of a hitting slump. Browning told his teammates and several of them commissioned bats as well. J.F. was not convinced this was a sustainable business item but did make these players their requested bats while concentrating on his normal railings, porch columns and the like. In fact, for a brief time after the first batch he turned players away. Bud however saw the potential and eventually his dad agreed. These bats were sold as “Falls City Slugger” and when Bud took over the company in 1894, he instituted the name, “Louisville Slugger”. They are still in business to this day serving a vast majority of players in the professional ranks as well as wood bat players everywhere through retail outlets.
(Pete Browning’s Bat Model PB1 and Plaque outside of the Museum. Author’s Collection.)
In a future post, I will chronicle my trip to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.
~ Coach Mike
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Such a fun read🤗. So interesting 🧐. Keep ‘em comin🙏🙏
Another great article, Mike!