Deaf ballplayer 'Dummy' Hoy succeeded on and off field

The Cincinnati Enquirer ^ | July 20, 2003 | Deborah Kendrick

[grumple]

Deaf ballplayer 'Dummy' Hoy succeeded on and off field Deborah Kendrick July 20, 2003

His life, all 99 1/2 years of it, tells perhaps one of the most classically American stories any of us have heard in a long time.

William "Dummy" Hoy, deaf since age 3, was outside his Houcktown, Ohio, cobbler shop, as was his custom so many afternoons, throwing and chasing balls with the children of the town. A passer-by, recognizing his talent, invited him to come play a game with Findlay's baseball team in a town 12 miles away.

Before long, Hoy was heading for Wisconsin in search of serious ball playing, promising his mother he'd be back in time to help fill fall shoe orders.

The first deaf baseball player to play in the major leagues, Hoy played for several teams from 1886-1902 but had his longest stint with the Cincinnati Reds. Reds fans adored him, and he loved Cincinnati so much that he settled here with his wife and six children, buying a 60-acre dairy farm in Mount Healthy.

He played 1,792 major league games, batted .288, had 2,054 hits and 597 stolen bases, and was the first outfielder to throw three runners out at the plate in the same game. In his earlier games, his success was particularly impressive because all calls were verbal, never heard by Hoy. In Oshkosh, Wis., early in his professional career, he asked a third-base coach to signal strikes and balls. That accommodation led to the signs flashed in the game today.

Hoy was a magnificent human being, as well. His friendliness and love of children led to discovery of his athletic gift in the first place, and his work ethic fostered not only a remarkable baseball career but success as a dairy farmer, personnel director of several hundred deaf workers for Goodyear, and achievement in a variety of other jobs.

Stories are plentiful of his walking 72 blocks from Mount Healthy to see his son, Judge Carson Hoy, preside in court; of dancing the Charleston in his 80s, and pruning trees in his 90s. Although the term might be considered offensive today, "Dummy" was the name Hoy preferred, correcting new acquaintances who thought it would be more courteous to call him William.

In 1951, Hoy was unanimously voted the first athlete inducted into the American Athletic Association of the Deaf's Hall of Fame. In 1961, he threw out the first pitch for a World Series game in Crosley Field. Two months later, just five months shy of his 100th birthday, he died in his sleep. Despite lobbying on his behalf during his lifetime and since, he has not yet been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

At noon on Aug. 3, preceding the Reds-Giants game, Hoy will be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame. In honor of the magnificent player whose first language was American Sign Language, the game (for the first time in Reds history) will provide both American Sign Language interpreters and closed captioning.

As Jeff Carroll, advocacy and education specialist for Cincinnati's Community Services for the Deaf, says he and about 50 more deaf people have tickets for the event. "Dummy Hoy was very active in the Cincinnati Deaf Club and a strong supporter of the community," Carroll says.

"Plenty of deaf people, including myself, are Reds fans and Hoy fans, and feel this recognition is seriously long overdue."

The Reds Web site, www.cincinnatireds.com, offers a diagram of seating. Sections 110-142 and 412/512-437/537 offer both a view of the game and the main scoreboard, where the closed captioning will be displayed. For tickets, call 381-7337.

Contact Debra Kendrick by phone: 673-4474; fax:

321-6430; e-mail: dkkendrick@earthlink.net.

[grumple]

I'm not saying Rose does not deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, his numbers definitely warrant consideration, regardless of his indiscretions...maybe if he had claimed his gambling was just all about sex he'd been okay. But others deserve consideration as well and their times are past due. I believe this to be the case with "Dummy" Hoy. Did you ever wonder about umpires and their animated calls of lame "balls" and the over-gestured STEEEERRRIIIIIIKKKKEEEE THREEE!!! Had it not been for "Dummy" we may not enjoy these classics of umpirical contortions...Thank you "Dummy" Hoy...

[ctlpdad]

good read bump.

[StatesEnemy]

Sure, Dummy sounds like he is deserved of enshrinement - but I'm waiting for Jim Rice to be inducted!

[grumple]

No argument there on Jim Rice. Great ballplayer.

[freebilly]

Yeah, Rice deserves it. He hit nearly 400 homeruns and over 2400 hits. Career .298 hitter. Way better stats than the last inductee, Gary Carter, into the Hall....

[freebilly]

Jim Rice hit over 20 homers in 11 seasons, topped 100 RBI eight times, and had four 200-hit seasons. He ended with 382 homers, third on the all-time Red Sox list, behind Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski. On the all-time Red Sox leaders list, he places third in home runs, RBI, hits, at-bats, and total bases; fourth in runs scored and extra-base hits; fifth in slugging percentage; and sixth in doubles and triples.

It's a joke that Rice is not in the HOF.

[grumple]

Lately it seems like all you have to do is establish yourself with the lofty 500 home run plateau and you are automatic. Romour has it Fred McGriff is only hanging around because he is just that close.

I personally think that to get the the Hall, not only should you have good numbers, but have made a positively significant impact within your local community by sponsoring charity programs to help the needy and such. And to be active in presenting baseball itself in a good light.

I don't recall Rose doing any thing such as this although I can't say for sure. Contrast that with Dummy Hoy, all I've heard Rose do is whine...

agree on Rice that it is a joke

[DonQ]

Hoy was not the only deaf player, and maybe not the first. Another famous deaf player of the same era was Luther Taylor ... once (and only once) were they both in the same game.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/9384/base.html

[dfwgator]

Had it not been for "Dummy" we may not enjoy these classics of umpirical contortions

You got me laughing there, because all I could think about was Leslie Neilsen in "The Naked Gun" when he played the umpire.

[grumple]

Yep, they actually faced each other. I think Hoy's main distinction is the request for hand gestures regarding balls and strikes though.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

I personally think that to get the the Hall, not only should you have good numbers, but have made a positively significant impact within your local community by sponsoring charity programs to help the needy and such. And to be active in presenting baseball itself in a good light.

So much for Ty Cobb! And who knows how many others...

[grumple]

LOL...needless to say I don't set the standards...but by the same token then Rose should be a shoe-in

[grumple]

You got me laughing there, because all I could think about was Leslie Neilsen in "The Naked Gun" when he played the umpire. One of his more classical performances...I hadn't thought about that but now that you mention it...especially the splits and the moonwalk!!

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Yes, there's the rub. Many unsavory characters are in the HOF. Nevertheless, Pete needs to admit he has a gambling problem and apologize - public opinion would flood him into the Hall ASAP.

[DonQ]

Just as a deaf baseball player instigated the hand signals for balls and strikes, deaf football players instigated the huddle. Reportedly the Gallaudet College football team devised the huddle so the players could discuss in Sign their strategy out of the sight of the opposition. Non-deaf teams learned not to underestimate the Gallaudet team; one team from a regular college was so smug that they didn't bother to whisper their plans but shouted them to each other, supposing that the Gallaudet players wouldn't hear them --- did I mention that some Gallaudet students are expert lipreaders?