William Ellsworth Dummy Hoy

Last Updated: 21 Mar 2017

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William Ellsworth Hoy was the first and only accomplished deaf person to play Major League Baseball. Mr. Hoy was born on the 23rd of May in 1862 in Houck town, Ohio, this is where he got the nickname “Dummy”. In today’s society calling him that name would not be acceptable, but back then dummy meant somebody who could not speak. When people called him William, Billy or Bill he corrected them because he preferred Dummy. At the age of 2 he was diagnosed with Spinal Meningitis, this caused him to lose his hearing and since he was so young he could not learn how to speak.

But this did not stop him, he proved everybody wrong, he graduated valedictorian from Columbus’s Ohio School for the Deaf and began his professional baseball career in 1886 for the Oshkosh Club in Wisconsin and was paid $85 a month. Dummy was a great baseball player, he played center field for several teams from 1888-1902, the most notably team was the Cincinnati Reds. Some sources claim that he is the reason why baseball today uses signals and signs, because he could not hear the umpire so he taught his coaches to use signals to let him know if it was a ball or strike or even the umpires to let him know if he was out or safe.

Dummy died at the age of 99 on December 15, 1961 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today there is a group of people who are trying to get him elected into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. His contribution to society and baseball was huge, he let people know whether your deaf or have a any disability you can still make your dreams come true as long as you try and never give up. I think somebody like this should definitely be in the Baseball Hall Of Fame, he brings honor back to game that is full or greed and selfishness.

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