A Cincinnati Reds player from long ago will be honored as a role model for the hearing impaired community. The player's nickname was "Dummy," something no one would use these days, but was commonly accepted more than a century ago.
Local 12 News Reporter Jeff Hirsh has more on Dummy Hoy and the game in his honor.
Baseball is not only a game of wonderful sights but also memorable sounds. There's the roar of the crowd, the crack of the bat, the umpire calling "you're out" and of course, the vendor, "beer here."
The sights and sounds combine for the baseball experience. But what if you're a ballplayer who misses out on the noise and the words? "He could not speak and he could not hear."
William Ellsworth Hoy, or 'Dummy'-that's what people called deaf-mutes 100 years ago-is worth remembering for several reasons. "You might think Dummy Hoy is in the Reds Hall of Fame because the challenges he had to overcome, but in fact he had a very strong career with the Reds."
Hoy played 18 seasons of professional ball, including five with the Reds in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Hoy holds the 25th best Reds career batting average, lots of stolen bases, and an incredible throwing arm. "He once threw out three batters in the same inning at home plate. You've got to have a pretty good arm to do that."
Hoy also learned how to adapt. "In Hoy's era there were no signals. The umpire just shouted if the player was out or safe. There was none of this and none of that."
Hoy and his teammates developed signs so he could follow the game. And there's some belief, although not total agreement, that umpires later modeled their safe and out signs on what Hoy came up with. Monday night will be Dummy Hoy Night at Great American Ballpark. The Hearing, Speech, and Deaf Center is honoring Hoy as a hero. "He's known to have overcome so many obstacles at a time over 100 years ago when people just didn't have the opportunity to overcome obstacles"
And that's a role model for any era. "The guy could hit, the guy could field, the guy could run the bases. Just couldn't hear? Couldn't hear"
Dummy Hoy Night on Monday includes a sign language version of the national anthem and a special seating section where sign language interpreters will be on hand.
such a huge fan of him as growing up..followed his whole career.