Visiting the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Louisville KY (Part Two)

Tweet

The Louisville Slugger Museum is a treasure trove of memorabilia some of which the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown would probably love to have. Babe Ruth is gold. On display at this museum are Ruth’s 1918 Louisville Slugger contract and 1931 letter to the company. Plus a bat he used during the Yankees’ legendary 1927 season and the broken one he struck the first 21 home runs of his 60 homer season. The company originally made butter churns and one is on hand as well as old factory equipment. There is the very first bat from 1884 and 1887 bat for Pete Browning who was first client. The museum is more than just an exhibit of vintage bats. There is a man demonstrating bat making the old fashioned way by hand. A photo op area where visitors can strike an action pose swinging a genuine player bat. How about sitting down in two Wrigley Field seats. Bats are the name of the game here and has this museum got some gems to make collectors salivate. A game used 1906 Ty Cobb bat. Are you kidding! That would fetch a fortune at auction. Early Hall of Famer material is particularly desirable even if their names are forgotten and the museum has 1894 Hugh Duffy and 1910 Franklin “Home Run” Baker bats Not only a 1915 Honus Wagner bat but also 1946 uniform worn as a Pirate coach. Lou Gehrig memorabilia is even rarer than Babe Ruth and they have an end of career used bat circa 1937-39. There are so many vintage bats that many are stored in pull out drawers. See these Hall of Famer bats: Mel Ott (1934), Johnny Bench (1970), Joe Morgan (1976), Mike Schmidt (1981) and Eddie Murray (1996). David Ortiz (2004) will soon be elected to the Hall of Fame. There are two used Roberto Clemente bats (1960 and ‘70) as well as his 1961 silver bat award. Milestone memorabilia is highly sought after and collectors and Cooperstown would want these. A bat used by Roger Maris in 1961 when breaking Babe Ruth’s single season home run record. Pete Rose used this bat for his 2000th hit in 1973. What Yankee fan would not want a bat swung by Joe DiMaggio during his 56 game hitting streak in 1941. How many thousands of dollars is the bat Hank Aaron smacked his 700th home run worth. One of those pink Mother’s Day bat is displayed. Alex Rodriguez used it in 2006. Somebody had the idea of getting music stars to sign Louisville Sluggers like Roger Daltry, Alice Cooper, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. There are life size statues of Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek Jeter. “Batter Up” is a fun experience where visitors can push a button to have a pitcher throw strikes at them. Louisville Slugger is a great place to visit.