This is a story about
“
a young man named
ey Dummy!” called the first
baseman. Can’t you count?”
William looked at the player’s
expression and groaned. He had done
it again by walking to first base on
three balls instead of four. He kicked
the dirt on the way back to home plate
on a 3–2 count, and angrily struck out.
Trudging to the dugout, he ignored the
jeers from the fans.
William attempted to watch the
lips of his teammates to see if they
were upset with him. However, their
faces were turned away and he was
unable to follow their conversation.
The other players and the fans called
him “Dummy” for a nickname. He
didn’t use his voice. When he was a
child he had tried to talk like hearing
people, but his strange voice made the
other kids laugh at him. He knew sign
language and used this as his method
of communication.
William had worked hard in the
minors to make it to the majors. He
had been with the Buffalo Bison’s in
the Player’s League last year and hated
losing. The Bisons had come in dead
last losing 96 games. He had been
delighted when he came to St. Louis to
play with the Browns in the Association. All the experts predicted either
the St. Louis Browns or the Boston
Reds would be first in the Association
this season. The date was April 8, 1891
and it was opening day with the St.
Louis Browns playing the Cincinnati
Kelly’s Klippers.
William was upset with his batting
because the opposing team kept “fast
pitching” him. They would take advantage of the fact he had to turn around
to lipread the umpire. As a result he
had a low batting average. After striking out he would come back to the
dugout discouraged, like today. His
teammates would shout to him what
he hoped were words of encouragement. Sometimes it was tiresome to
remind the other players to turn their
faces towards him. He usually gave
up and sat by himself.
He thought he was an excellent
player in other ways. He had the best
William Hoy. Little did he
and a third base coach
realize that they were
going to change the
game of baseball forever.
© National Baseball Hall of
Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York
24 Hearing Loss
H
Safe is a Sign!
base stealing average in the Association. He was more observant than his
hearing teammates about what the
expressions meant on the opposing
player’s faces. He had practice watching body language as a child to see if
someone was angry or pleased with
him. If he saw a hesitancy in the catcher’s face, or a slight pause in the step
of the pitcher as he pushed off against
the mound, he was off and running.
William stopped daydreaming and
concentrated on the exciting game. The
score kept teetering back and forth. St.
Louis got 2 runs in the third inning
and Cincinnati got 2 in the fourth.
Williams’ good friend and roommate,
Tip O’Neil, blasted a grand slam in the
seventh inning bringing the score to
6-2. In the eighth inning, Cincinnati
quickly got 2 more runs off the relief
pitcher with men on base and tied the
score to 6-6. The ninth inning proved
to be just as exciting when both teams
scored one run.
William went up to bat. He started
for first base at a count of 3-2 instead
of four balls and he could read the lips
of the crowd as they booed him.
Irritated, he swung angrily at the
next pitch and the ball soared into the
air. He was off and running like a deer.
He passed first base. Second base. To
everyone’s astonishment he slid into
third base a hair ahead of the throw.
A huge triple was really big with two
outs at the bottom of the 10th inning!
Just 90 feet away at home plate was
the winning run. The St. Louis Browns
would win the home opener and set
the pace for the rest of the season.
William carefully watched the
frustrated player as he fouled off
several pitches. The crowd was on
its feet cheering for a base hit to get
“Dummy” home. He could feel the
stands vibrate as people were wildly
stomping their feet.
In Hoy’s amazing career he led
the National League with 82
stolen bases in his rookie year!
No one in the Baseball Hall
of Fame has beaten that record
to this day. He stole 605 bases
in his lifetime. He played for
the Washington Senators, St. Louis
Browns, Cincinnati Reds, Louisville
Colonels, and the Chicago White
Sox. His favorite team was the Cincinnati Reds, and their fans adored
him. They would stand up and
wave to him rather than clap, so he
knew how much he was loved.
William watched the pitcher and
catcher motioning to each other and
briefly glimpsed the confused look
on the pitcher’s face. He noticed a
slight hesitancy in the pitcher’s foot
planted on the mound. Off he ran
towards home.
William felt like he was in slow
motion as he caught a blur of the faces
of the cheering crowd, their hands
waving wildly. He saw the shocked
face of the catcher, and the surprised
look on the umpire’s face. Breathless from running he started to slide
and stretched as far as he could. The
toes on his right foot barely touched
home plate. The catcher reached up
at the same time, caught the ball and
brought it down on his leg. It all happened within a split second.
William looked up and realized he
couldn’t read the umpire’s lips to see
if he was “out” or “safe.” The weight
of his teammates jumping on top of
him and wildly hugging him answered
his question. His team had won! Just
then the last ray of light from the sun
dropped over the horizon and the field
was totally dark. William went out for
dinner that night with his teammates
and they all remembered to turn their
faces to him so he could read their
lips. They all congratulated him on
the winning play.
The next morning William went
to the locker room before practice. He
was startled by a tap on his shoulder.
He turned to see the third base coach
from his team standing next to Tip
O’Neil.
Tip knew a little signing from
living with him and interpreted for
the third base coach. “I was impressed
with the way you played last night. I
also noticed you missed the balls and
strikes signs. You didn’t even know
you were safe did you?”
William began to shake inside.
He thought the coach was going to
kick him out of baseball because he
couldn’t hear. But the coach continued. “We can’t afford to limit good
players like you who hustle. I have
talked to the manager and he suggested that you and I sign to each other
the standardized signs in American
Sign Language for balls/strikes/safe
and out. That way everyone can see
what is happening even if the crowds
are cheering too loud. “
William clasped the coach’s hands
because now his own hands were
speechless. Finally he brought his
hand to his lips and with a shining
face signed “thank you.”
Postscript
To this day the signs are still used.
William Ellsworth Hoy was a real
baseball player and he did play
for the minor Oshkosh team from
1886-1888. His first year he really
did have an awful batting average of
.219 because the pitchers would fast
pitch him. There are variations of
the story about how the signs were
started. Maybe the team discussed
continued on page 26
January/February 2007 25
Safe is a Sign!
continued from page 25
the problem and came up with the
idea over dinner, or Hoy thought of
it himself and went to the third base
coach and asked him to sign. What
we do know is the following year
his batting average rose to .367.
Around this time the “men in blue”
(the umpires) realized how useful
this was for players and fans so they
began to use the signs universally.
The signs for “ball and” strike” were
first incorporated using the right and
left arm, and the signs for “safe” and
“out” were taken from American Sign
Language. It is also true that Sam
Crawford was his roommate and is
the person who documented that
Hoy developed the signs to be used
in baseball.
This amazing Ohioan suffered
spinal meningitis and had been profoundly deaf from the age of 2. He was
well known in baseball for his base
stealing and strong arm. In one game
where he played outfielder, he threw
out 3 runners at home plate! He was
also famous for hitting the first grand
slam in the American League with the
Chicago White Stockings in 1901.
In Hoy’s amazing career he led the
National League with 82 stolen bases in
his rookie year! No one in the Baseball
Hall of Fame has beaten that record
to this day. He stole 605 bases in his
lifetime. He played for the Washington
Senators, St. Louis Browns, Cincinnati Reds, Louisville Colonels, and the
Chicago White Sox. His favorite team
was the Cincinnati Reds and their fans
adored him. They would stand up and
wave to him so he knew how much
he was loved.
A historical moment occurred
when the Reds faced Luther Hader
Taylor (also nicknamed “Dummy”)
on May 16, 1902. It was the only time
in major league baseball that two
deaf players faced each other. Taylor is
famous in his own right. He and his
manager, John McGraw, of the Giants,
are credited with using sign language
as a back up system. McGraw made the
26 Hearing Loss
entire team learn sign language, and
if the players did not understand the
signs for ”bunt” or “steal,” they would
simply use sign language. We see a
version of this method used today as
each team makes up their own signs to
use from the dugout to the third base
coach to the batter and each other.
“Dummy” Hoy and “Dummy” Taylor
later were teammates in the Ohio State
Deaf Softball Team. Their contribution
to baseball will be remembered forever.
On October 7, 1961 Hoy tossed
the first ball at Opening Day in the
World Series Game between the Reds
and Yankees. He was 99 years old
when he died on December 5, 1961.
He has been inducted into the Ohio
Baseball Hall of fame and many players and fans are lobbying for him to
be inducted into Cooperstown.
The game that is outlined in this
book is an actual date (April 8, 1891)
and stars two important teams. The
history books state that the score was
tied 7-7 and Cincinnati went into a
stall, refusing to play when it became
dark. The game was given to the
Browns by a forfeit.
Maybe this story is how it really
happened—I would like to think
it is. HLM
About the Author
Jane Biehl recounts her childhood when she says,
“My father used to take us to the old Cleveland
stadium which was pushed out into Lake Erie
and is now used as a barrier reef. I remember
being about four or five years old.
“No one knew I had a hearing loss and I
thought I heard that Mickey Mantle was Mickey
Mouse and Yogi Berra was Yogi Bear. The people
around me thought it was funny. Still, no one knew I was hard of hearing until I was smacked by my first grade teacher for ‘not listening.’
(Isn’t that strange?)
“I got away from baseball until years later. I started going to games
again when the new stadium Jacobs Field was built. I went to the World
Series in 1995 and the All-Star game in 1997 in Cleveland. Now I am
a baseball fanatic! I think the story about William Hoy is fascinating
and it was fun to research and write about him.”
Jane Biehl, Ph.D., a member from North Canton, Ohio, was born with
a severe hearing loss and wears hearing aids in both ears. She obtained
a bachelor’s degree from Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, and a master’s
degree in Library Science from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
She worked in various library systems in Ohio as a children’s librarian,
children’s consultant, children’s coordinator, assistant director, and director for 19 years.
Dr. Biehl decided she wanted to work with people with disabilities
and obtained another master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. She
left the library field in 1991 to pursue a doctorate in counseling and then
worked another 11 years with people with disabilities, specializing in
people who are blind, deaf-blind, and people with hearing loss.
She is in a private practice in North Canton, Ohio, counseling both
children and adults. She also teaches part time in the Social Sciences Department at Stark State College in North Canton. Dr. Biehl loves traveling,
sports, and writing in her spare time. She is an avid Cleveland Indians fan!
Selected Books
Goodman, Rebecca. “Ohio Moments:
Reds Centerfield Hoy spurred umps’
signals” Cincinnati Enquirer.
16 May 2003 or www.enquirer.
com/editions/2003/05/16/loc_
ohiodate0516.html
Kendrick, Deborah. “Alive and
Well: Deaf Ballplayer ‘Dummy’ Hoy
succeeded on and off field.” Cincinnati Enquirer. 30 July 2003 or www.
enquirer.com/editions/2003/07/20/
tem_alive20.html
Mackin, Bob. The Unofficial Guide to
Baseball’s Most Unusual Records. Vancouver: Greystone, 2004. 65
Nemec, David & Flatow, Scott. Great
Baseball Feats Facts and Firsts. New
York, New York: Signet, 2005. 42
Swaine, Rick. Beating the Breaks: Major
League Ballplayers who Overcame Disabilities. Jefferson, North Carolina:
McFarland & Company, 2004. 112-116
Web Sites
Baseball. Notes from the halls of
Cooperstown and observations from
outside the lines. www.baseball
1.com/carney/index.php/storyid=34
Baseball Almanac: Hoy statistics
www.baseball-almanac.com/players/
player.php/p+hoydu01
www.dummyhoy.com/overview
www.dummyhoy.com/statistics/
scorecard/highlights.html
The campaign to get Hoy inducted
into the National Baseball
Hall of Fame:
www.dummyhoy.com/destination_
cooperstown/
Eternal hope: Hall of Fame
changes the rules:
www.dummyhoy.com/news_update/
What they said: Hall of Famers
on Hoy (and other quotes):
www.dummyhoy.com/what_they_
said/index.html
“A Name By Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet”
— Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 1594
…from Dummy to Pride
I
t would be unheard of in the 21st century to refer to anyone as a
“dummy,” especially someone who couldn’t hear well enough to respond
appropriately. We have come a long way due to attitude changes and
legislation to put people on an equal playing field.
We know better now that people are human beings first, then they
have the characteristics that make them unique—brown hair, glasses, hearing loss, home-run hitter. We live in a great era where technology coupled
with understanding has made life better for everyone, with or without
disabilities.
It is hard to make it to professional sports even without a hearing
loss. The late 1800s had William Hoy and this century has Curtis Pride.
Who knows how many were in between?
Curtis Pride was born in Washington D.C., and grew up in the local
area. He was born in 1968 with a hearing loss because his mother contracted Rubella when she was pregnant. He attended John F. Kennedy
High School in Wheaton, Maryland, where he was a scholar and athlete.
Pride started playing Major League Baseball with the New York Mets parttime while attending the College of William and Mary on a basketball
scholarship. He graduated from college in 1990 with a degree in finance
and went on to play with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and the
Atlanta Braves. Outfielder Pride, friend to Hearing Loss Association,
made his way again to the major leagues in 2006 when he joined the
Los Angeles Angels last July.
In 1999 Pride made a guest appearance and participated with
children at the SHHH Convention’s Children’s Workshop in New
Orleans. He was a hit with the children and adults alike.
We had the chance to interview this inspiring, warm and genuine
young man. If you would like to read that interview from Hearing Loss
Magazine, go to http://www.hearingloss.org/docs/Curtis Pride Interview
Hearing Loss Magazine.doc.
In the interview, he talked about his hearing loss and playing baseball
—all the while, smiling his major league smile.
Today, one of Pride’s greatest accomplishments is “Together with
Pride,” his foundation that encourages children to take pride in their abilities and achieve their goals. Pride makes numerous appearances on behalf
of children with and without disabilities. He
personally answers hundreds of letters each year
primarily from young people with disabilities and
their parents. (For more information, go to www.
togetherwithpride.org)
Wouldn’t William Hoy liked to have met
Curtis Pride?
— Barbara Kelley, Editor-in-Chief,
Hearing Loss Magazine
January/February 2007 27