| William Hoy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born:(1862-05-23)May 23, 1862 Houcktown, Ohio, U.S. | |
| Died: December 15, 1961(1961-12-15) (aged 99) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1888, for the Washington Nationals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 17, 1902, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .288 |
| Hits | 2,048 |
| Runs batted in | 725 |
| Stolen bases | 596 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy (May 23, 1862 – December 15, 1961) was an American professionalbaseballcenter fielder inMajor League Baseball (MLB) who played for several teams from 1888 to 1902, most notably theCincinnati Reds and two Washington, D.C. franchises.
Hoy is the most accomplisheddeaf player in MLB history, and is credited by some sources with causing the establishment of signals for safe and out calls.[1][2][3] He held the MLB record for games in center field (1,726) from 1889 to 1902, set records for careerputouts (3,958) andtotal chances (4,625) as an outfielder, and retired among the leaders in outfield games (2nd; 1,795),assists (7th; 273), anddouble plays (3rd; 72).
He was an excellentbaserunner, scoring over 100runs nine times, and often finishing among the topbase stealers. He is one of only 29 players to have played in four different Major Leagues. His 1,006 careerwalks put him second in MLB history behindBilly Hamilton when he retired. He ended his career ranking eighth in careergames played (1,796).
Born in the small town ofHoucktown, Ohio, Hoy became deaf aftermeningitis at age three. He graduated from theOhio State School for the Deaf inColumbus as classvaledictorian. He opened a shoe repair store in his hometown and played baseball on weekends, earning a professional contract in1886 with anOshkosh, Wisconsin, team which was managed byFrank Selee in 1887. In 1888, with theWashington Nationals of theNational League, Hoy became the third deaf player in the major leagues, after pitcherEd Dundon and pitcherTom Lynch. In his rookie year he led the league in stolen bases (although the statistic was defined differently prior to 1898),[4] and also finished second with 69 walks whilebatting .274. At 5'4" and batting left-handed, he was able to gain numerous walks with a smallstrike zone, leading the league twice and compiling a .386 careeron-base percentage.
Hoy's speed was a great advantage in the outfield, and he was able to play shallow as a result. On June 19, 1889, he set an MLB record (which has since been tied twice) by throwing out three runners at home plate in one game, with catcherConnie Mack recording the outs. In 1890, he and Mack joined theBuffalo Bisons of thePlayers' League. In1891 Hoy returned to the AA with theSt. Louis Browns under player-managerCharles Comiskey for the league's final season, leading the league with 119 walks and scoring a career-high 136 runs, second in the league. He returned to Washington for two years with theWashington Senators of theNational League. He was traded to the Reds in December 1893, where he was reunited with Comiskey.
Hoy later joined theLouisville Colonels, where his teammates includedHonus Wagner,Fred Clarke andTommy Leach, who was his roommate. He hit .304 and .306 in his two seasons with the club. In1899 he brokeMike Griffin's Major League record of 1,459 games in center field. After playing for theChicago White Sox in theAmerican League during itslast minor league season in 1900, where Comiskey was now the team owner, Hoy stayed with the team when the AL achieved major league status in 1901, helping them to the league's (and his) first pennant.
In 1901, he brokeTom Brown's record of 3,623 career outfield putouts, and led the league with 86 walks and 14 timeshit by pitch. He finished fourth in runs (112) and on-base percentage (.407). He ended his Major League career with the Reds in 1902, batting .290 and breaking Brown's record of 4,461 career total chances in the outfield. He played for Los Angeles in thePacific Coast League in 1903. In May of his last season with the Reds, he batted against pitcherDummy Taylor of theNew York Giants in the first faceoff between deaf players in the Major Leagues. Hoy got twohits.
Hoy retired with a .288 batting average, 2,048 hits, 1,429 runs, 725runs batted in, 248 doubles, 121triples and 40home runs. He had 488 stolen bases from 1888 through 1897, and 108 more after the statistic was redefined to its present meaning in 1898. His 1,795 games in the outfield ranked second toJimmy Ryan (then at 1,829) in MLB history.Jesse Burkett broke his MLB record for career putouts in 1905, and Clarke topped his record for career total chances in 1909. His record for career games in center field was broken byTris Speaker in 1920.
In Hoy's time, the word "dumb" was used to describe someone who could not speak, rather than someone who was stupid. But since the ability to speak was often connected to one's intelligence, the epithets "dumb" and "dummy" became interchangeable with stupidity. Hoy himself often corrected individuals who addressed him as William, and referred to himself as Dummy.[citation needed] Said to have been able to speak with a voice that resembled a squeak,[5] he was one of the most intelligent players of his time.[6]
He is sometimes credited with developing the hand signals used byumpires to this day, though this view is widely disputed.Cy Rigler is believed to have created signals for balls and strikes while working in the minor leagues. In the November 6, 1886 issue ofThe Sporting News, the deaf pitcherEd Dundon is credited as using hand signals while umpiring a game inMobile, Alabama on October 20, 1886.Bill Klem is credited with introducing those signals to the Major Leagues, in the early 20th century.[6]
No articles printed during Hoy's lifetime have been found to support the suggestion that he influenced the creation of signals, nor did he ever maintain that he had such a role. Nonetheless, due to the possibility that he may have played a role in the use of signals, as well as for his all-around play, there is a movement to support his election to theBaseball Hall of Fame inCooperstown, New York.[6]
In retirement, Hoy and his wife Anna Maria, who was also deaf, operated a dairy farm inMount Healthy, Ohio, outsideCincinnati. Among their six children was Carson, an Ohio judge, and their grandson, Judson, became a member of theOhio House of Representatives. They raised his nephew,Paul Hoy Helms, the founder of theHelms Athletic Foundation in Los Angeles. Hoy also worked as an executive withGoodyear after supervising hundreds of deaf workers during World War I.[7][8]
In 1951 he was the first deaf athlete elected to membership in theAmerican Athletic Association of the Deaf Hall of Fame. At the age of 99 and just two months before his death in Cincinnati following astroke, the Reds brought him back toCrosley Field, built on the site of his former home field, tothrow out the first ball before Game 3 of the1961 World Series.[7][9] He could see, if not hear, the standing ovation he received. Upon his death that December, his remains were cremated according to family tradition and were scattered atLytle Park in Cincinnati.
Upon his death in 1961 at the age of 99, Hoy was the longest-lived former MLB player ever. In 1973,Ralph Miller broke Hoy's record by becoming the first ex-major leaguer to reach the age of 100. Altogether, 25 former big league ballplayers have becomecentenarians, with one of the 25,Silas Simmons, becoming ansupercentenarian, dying at the age of 111 in 2006.
At the time of his death, Dummy Hoy was the last surviving participant of both theAmerican Association and thePlayers' League.
In2001 the baseball field atGallaudet University was named the William "Dummy" Hoy Baseball Field. He was inducted into theCincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in2003. Hoy was inducted into theBaseball Reliquary'sShrine of the Eternals in 2004.[10]
The William "Dummy" Hoy Classic is a baseball game held every two years duringRochester, New York Deaf Awareness Week; it is contested between members of the Rochester Recreation Club of the Deaf and theBuffalo, New York Club of the Deaf, at a recreated 19th-century ballpark atGenesee Country Village and Museum.[11]
In 2008, theDocumentary Channel aired the biographyDummy Hoy: A Deaf Hero (aka:I See the Crowd Roar). The documentary, using photographs of Hoy and actors to recreate certain events, chronicled the highlights of Hoy's life and his contributions to baseball; Hoy was portrayed byRyan Lane.[12]
At least three picture books for children have been published:Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy by Bill Wise (2012),The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the GameNancy Churnin (2016).,[13] andThe Little-Known Heroes: William 'Dummy' Hoy by Kaushay and Spencer Ford (2021).[14]
The 2019 limited-release movieThe Silent Natural, tells the story of Hoy, who is played byMiles Barbee, who is deaf in real life.[15]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Oldest recognized verified living baseball player October 31, 1956 – December 15, 1961 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |