:: Deaf People in History: Day 4 – Dummy Hoy ::

April 8, 2007 in Deaf, Education, Hard of Hearing, History | Heritage, Sports

People – Dummy Hoy – Deaf Baseball Player

Stellar Deaf Player from Long Ago

From Jamie Berke,
Your Guide to Deafness

For years, the deaf community has been lobbying to get William “Dummy” Hoy into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hoy, who was born hearing but lost his hearing as a young child, is one of the more historic figures in baseball history. Among other things, he was the first one to hit a “grand slam” in the American League. Hoy was also instrumental in the invention of the “strike” sign.

Hoy was honored with a two-part front-page story in Deaf Life magazine, published in November and December 1992. In addition, he was featured in episode #102 of the Gallaudet University-produced television series, Deaf Mosaic.

In September 1997, Hoy was placed on the voting ballot but did not get elected. However, Hoy did make it into the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame.

This was reported in the July and October 1992 issues of Deaf Life.
MSM Productions, Ltd. has honored Dummy Hoy with an entire illustrated web site devoted to him: http://www.dummyhoy.com. On DummyHoy.com, visitors will find:

• An overview of his career
• A biography
• Career statistics
• “What They Said,” quotes from other Hall of Famers about Dummy Hoy.
• A detailed report on the effort to get Dummy Hoy into the Hall of Fame.
• A news page that keeps visitors informed on ongoing efforts and publicity for these efforts.

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