152: Pete Browning - MLB
Going way back in history, sometimes you uncover incredible stories. This is one of them. Long before Louisville Slugger became synonymous with @MLB , baseball players did whatever they could to make their own bats or have someone else make a bat for them. Pete Browning turned to an acquaintance when he failed to get a hit for two straight games. He considered that a slump! So, Browning's acquaintance went to his woodworking shop and crafted Pete a new bat, and it worked. Pete proceeded to end his slump. It was the birth of the Louisville Slugger. Browning was unique. Browning played in the American Association (at the time, the AA was recognized as a pre-eminent professional league), the Players League, and the National League. He believed that a baseball bat had a limited number of hits in it; he gave each bat its own name, and he had many, many quirks. Despite his career batting average of .341, Browning is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Of course, an argument can be made either way, but the fact is, he was one of the best - if not the best - hitter of his time. On this episode of SFH, Tim Newby the author of "The Original Louisville Slugger," joins the show for a wonderful discussion on a baseball pioneer, Pete Browning.
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