Honoring and saluting Hillerich & Bradsby Co. on the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger.

I thank the gentleman from New Jersey, and I also thank the gentleman from Nebraska for his kind remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of a genuine American icon, a piece of history that was instrumental in the development of the great American pastime, a tool that helped make ballplayers into folk heroes, and a treasure that gave every kid with a dream the chance to hold a piece of the big leagues in their very hands.

Today we consider H. Res. 314, a resolution to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger, the official bat of Major League Baseball, manufactured by Hillerich & Bradsby in their beautiful factory in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The Louisville Slugger is synonymous with the crack of the bat on a summer afternoon, and it is forever linked to the greatest who ever played the game of baseball. Eighty percent of the inductees in the Baseball Hall of Fame swung a Louisville Slugger, 60 percent of all Major Leaguers do the same today.

On the label of every Louisville Slugger is the number 125 because the wood from white ash trees grown in Pennsylvania and New York, wood known for its strength and resiliency, is graded at 125. Now that number takes on additional significance, marking 125 years since the first Louisville Slugger was produced.

The story goes that back in 1884, Pete Browning, the star player on the Louisville Eclipse baseball club, broke his bat in the middle of a hitting slump. Then 17-year-old Bud Hillerich invited Browning back to his father's woodworking shop with a promise of a new hand-crafted bat. Hillerich's creation suited Browning perfectly, and Browning had three hits the very next game, bragging about his fortune to his teammates who soon swarmed Hillerich's woodworking shop to get a bat of their own. After a little persuading, Bud Hillerich convinced his father to focus

on bat-making full time, and the company made the change from producing stair rails and butter churns to Louisville Sluggers.

Thousands of ballplayers of every age have since swung the Louisville Slugger at every level of the game, including many of the all-time greats: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and Louisville's own, Pee Wee Reese.

Each player specified the measurements for the bat they wanted, and Louisville Slugger developed a unique model that was their own. Ted Williams, one of the greatest hitters of all time, personally traveled to the factory in Louisville throughout his career to pick out his bats. Not by coincidence, he broke the coveted .400 batting average barrier in three seasons and had a career average of .344. Ted acknowledged that he had a little help, famously saying, ``I would have been a .290 hitter without Louisville Slugger.''

This resolution is a commemoration of the legacy of the Louisville Slugger but also the success of Hillerich & Bradsby, a company that remains committed to Louisville after 125 years. That commitment translates into a lasting impact on our region, with the jobs the company creates at its factory and museum and the economic benefit that comes from thousands of visitors who travel to Louisville every year to see the place where the Slugger is made. Louisvillians take great pride in the fact that the slugger is created in our own backyard, and all of us should take great pride in a company that was built 125 years ago on the American spirit of entrepreneurship and is, itself, now one of our great American icons.

I am honored to celebrate the legacy of the Louisville Slugger and the Hillerich & Bradsby Company, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in saluting Hillerich & Bradsby Co. on the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger. It has been 125 years since Bud Hillerich crafted the very first Louisville Slugger for Pete Browning of the Louisville Eclipse. Since that time, the Louisville Slugger has sold more than 100 million bats, making it without question the most popular bat brand in baseball history.

The Louisville Slugger continues to dominate the game in both wood and aluminum bat categories, with 60 percent of all Major League players currently using the Louisville Slugger. Because the average Major League Baseball player goes through more than 100 bats in a season, each year more than 1 million bats are made at its factory in Louisville. At the factory's peak production, they are able to produce 1,500 bats to a specific player's request per day.

The factory in downtown Louisville is much more than just your average factory and carries with it an air of tradition and nostalgia from Hall of Fame players like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and even today's pros like Kevin Youkilis and Derek Jeter.

In 1996, the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory was opened to the public, and it's hard to miss the museum's 120-foot-tall Louisville Slugger that leans onto the brick building. Once inside of the museum, tourists are able to witness the entire process of creating a wooden bat from northern white ash or maple, test different model bats in a batting cage, and read about the history of players from the past.

In recent years, Louisville Slugger has gone far beyond bats, providing performance technology in the form of fielding and batting gloves, helmets, catchers' gear, equipment bags, training aids and accessories. In addition to its on-field performance products, Louisville Slugger offers personalized, miniature, commemorative and collectible bats. Perhaps we'll see one here soon. I would like to commend the Hillerich & Bradsby Company on their 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger and applaud the great success they've had with on-field performance products.

I would also like to recognize Congressman Yarmuth of Kentucky for his work on this resolution and hope that many more vacationers will enjoy the museum and factory tour experience. I stand in support of this legislation and hope that my colleagues will join me.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I think for the TV viewers, it's important to note that Mr. Yarmuth isn't that short. It's that the bat is that big.

Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 314) honoring and saluting Hillerich & Bradsby Co. on the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of House Resolution 314, honoring and saluting Hillerich & Bradsby Co. on the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger. Louisville Slugger, as the company is more commonly known, is widely considered an American icon, with a long and treasured record throughout baseball history. But Hillerich & Bradsby Co. began as a little-known small business, just like many small businesses in America today. Only after many years of dedication and refined work did the Louisville Slugger become the cherished bat of countless Americans.

Since its inception, Hillerich & Bradsby has produced approximately 100 million Louisville Sluggers, and currently makes roughly 1.8 million bats a year. Today, the Louisville Slugger is the official bat of Major League Baseball and is used by 60 percent of today's Major League Baseball players. It has also been used by 80 percent of all National Baseball Hall of Fame hitters such as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and Hank Aaron. It's virtually impossible to witness a ball game and not see a Louisville Slugger bat in use.

I'm pleased to join my colleagues today in congratulating Hillerich & Bradsby Co. on the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the sponsor of the legislation, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth).

Having no additional speakers, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.