Hillerich & Bradsby Co. · Louisville, KY United States

Hillerich & Bradsby (H&B) is batty for baseball. Maker of the venerable Louisville Slugger, the company has been a bane to pitchers for more than a century: Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Ken Griffey Jr. are among the tens of thousands of players who've wielded the company's baseball bats. In the 1970s and 1980s, little leaguers, softballers, and colleges began using newfangled, more durable metal bats; H&B was slow to adjust and nearly went out of business. Today metal bats are H&B's biggest moneymaker. The company also sells Bionic baseball and softball gloves, hockey equipment, and PowerBilt golf equipment. The Hillerich family and H&B employees own the company. To read the full description, subscribe now.