The Original Louisville Slugger

The Life and Times of Forgotten Baseball Legend Pete Browning

By: Tim Newby

Narrated by: Ray Montecalvo

Louis "Pete" Rogers Browning was one of the greatest baseball players of the nineteenth century. His skills with the bat made the difficult art of hitting a baseball appear easy. Over his thirteen-year career, he won three batting titles, finished in the top three nine times, and was one of the premodern era's greatest hitters. Browning is recognized as not only the namesake but also the genesis for the famed Louisville Slugger, as the Hillerich & Bradsby Company shaped the first ever custom-made bat based on his instructions. Browning's athletic prowess was overshadowed by his drunken adventures and struggles off the field. Known as the Gladiator, he drank tabasco sauce, washed his eyes with buttermilk, and named bats after biblical characters, all in an effort to improve his hitting. Few were aware that, behind the comedic persona, Browning suffered from mastoiditis, a devastating physical ailment that robbed him of his hearing, deprived him of an education, eroded his professional skills, and led to his heavy dependence on alcohol. Accounts of Browning's unconventional behavior were bolstered by his own outlandish storytelling. These stories were embellished by newspapers of the time, making him a legend.

Tim Newby addresses the myths surrounding the larger-than-life figure, uncovers the thin line between fact and fiction, and presents an extensive account of Browning—the man, and legendary ball player.

The book is published by The University Press of Kentucky. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2024 The University Press of Kentucky (P)2025 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A joyous biography of an oft-overlooked sports legend..." (Foreword Reviews)

"A master storyteller, Newby has given us a swashbuckling, true adventure from big league baseball's fascinating paleolithic era." (Jerry Grillo, author of Big Cat)

"This is a must-read for every baseball and sports fan..." (David Wrobel, author of America's West: A History, 1890-1950)

Grandslam

Author Tim Newby hits it out of the park with "The Original Louisville Slugger," which separates facts from fiction regarding an often overlooked batting champion from the nineteen century - Pete Browning. Newby also attempts to explain the rational of the writers not to vote the prolific hitter into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. His career batting average is a specular .341, and he won a batting title as a rookie, one of only five players to do so in the history of the Major Leagues. As noted, Browning is just one of four players to win a battling title in multiple leagues.

Browning became the name sake of the Louisville Slugger, as the first player with a custom made bat. He was nicknamed The Gladiator, and developed a reputation of being very cocky. Additionally, Browning prided himself as a slugger, and often boasted about being a hitter, not a fielder. Had he played as a designed hitter, he would already be in the hall of fame. Another "strike" against Browning was his addition to alcohol. However, as Newby points out, many players drank, and often times showed up at the ballpark inebriated.

Newby explores the possibility of Browning's drinking to aid his battles with mastoiditis and vertigo. He also suffered from deafness, which would made it difficult to hear any shouts from his teammates. It is astonishing to realize how much Browning was able to achieve in baseball with all his aliments. No question, The Gladiator was eccentric and quirky, but as you can pick up from the book - his passion was baseball. Another interesting question posed by Newby, just how great of a player he could have been without alcohol and his health issues.

This book is meticulously researched, and was in consideration for the Casey Award, a literary award that has been given to the best baseball book of the year since 1983. This is a captivating book, one that I am looking forward to listening to it again. Newby's love for baseball is overt, and I am hoping he writes another book on the subject. being a big fan of nineteen century baseball. The narration of Ray Montecalvo is also top notch - definitely a grandslam!