in 1894 Bud Hillerich got serious about baseball bats and his father in law's woodworking company registered the name 'Louisville Slugger'.
Ten years later, and 4,000 miles away in St. Neots England, the Timmons family created the Hunts County Bats company to make cricket bats.
Both companies went on to make the bats used by the very best in their sport for a century.
In 1983 Hunts County Bats moved about 8 miles to Huntingdon England to save a little money. In 1984 Jack Hillerich, President at Louisville Slugger, went to a seminar conducted by W Edwards Deming.
Today none of the big name professional cricket players use Hunts County Bats, and they are reeling under fierce competition from China and lots of other places. They can't pay their bills.
Today, Louisville Slugger still dominates baseball at all levels and has fended off all comers - including the Chinese. Business is booming.
To imply that there is some lesson to be drawn here regarding America's national past time versus jolly old England's; or that this somehow reflects poorly on British culture versus that of their wayward colony, well, it just wouldn't ne cricket - would it?
Let's just leave it at this: the Hunts County Bat boys should have gone to a Deming seminar.