Hey Jim,
I'm no expert, but I have followed the company's history, and here's a few things...
1. As can be seen in this ad from Crack of The Bat, the JF Hillerich & Son centerbrand was being used on bats as early as 1895. As the ad also states that he took Bud in as a partner in 1888, it's plausible that they were branded as such starting at this date. It did become official, as mentioned, in 1897 with the official 1$ sale of half of their building to Bud.
2. Also according to The Louisville Slugger Story by Bob Hill, it's mentioned that no person in particular is responsible for the name "Louisville Slugger". It's thought that players who used the bat named it. It makes no mention of the term used as a nickname for Browning. It mentions his known sobriquet as "the old gladiator". This is according to the year 2000 of course, so you may be correct and have updated info from a source I'm not aware of.
3. With 1894 being the year the name "Louisville Slugger" was patented, and with the JFH & S centerbrand being used as early as 1895, it's more than likely correct that Duffy did use the bat shown and mentioned as 1894, with similar centerbrand to the dated 1895 bat in the photo posted.
I just wanted to share this info. It's interesting to think how many questions in the hobby we'd love answered, but sadly, the information is lost to time.
Regards,
Brent.
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