A careful examination of history
shows that the hand signals in baseball were inspired by the first deaf
superstar of major league baseball—William Ellsworth "Dummy"
Hoy, who was born during the Civil War in 1862, in tiny Houcktown,
Ohio—even though in the National Baseball Hall of Fame an
umpire is credited with being the first to use the signals.
In the Hall of Fame, Umpire Bill Klem is credited with
creating hand
signals in 1905. Newspaper clippings dating back to 1888 refer to Hoy
and the use of hand signals, however.
During an 18-year major league career Hoy played for the
Washington
Senators, twice for the Cincinnati Reds, the Buffalo Brotherhood, St.
Louis Browns, the Louisville Colonels, and Chicago White Sox. He played
in 1,764 games. There is some disagreement in historical records as to
Hoy's exact statistics, but his career average could have been as high
as .291, and he hit over .300 three times. Hoy had 2,054 hits, 1,004
walks, 605 stolen bases, and 318 assists for his career.
On June 19, 1889 Hoy, when playing for the Senators, threw
three
Indianapolis outfielders out at home plate, becoming one of only three
outfielders in major league history to accomplish the task. Hoy, in his
rookie season, led the National League in stolen bases with 82. He
played two seasons for the St. Louis Browns of the American
Association, a short-lived league. His first season he had 119 walks,
to lead the league, and scored 136 runs for the team, to lead the
Browns.
He played his first of two seasons for the Louisville
Colonels, in
1898. The team only existed for two years. He had his best major league
average of .318 in 1898 and batted .306 in 1899.
Hoy was the first player in American league history to hit a
grand
slam, while playing for the Chicago White Sox on May 1, 1901. Hoy hit
.294 for the season and helped the team win an American League pennant,
the first for the White Sox. Hoy also had 45 fielding assists, a record
for any league. During 137 games, he also had 337 putouts and a .977
fielding average. That was the only time in major league history an
outfielder has ever led in assists, putouts, and fielding percentage.
In 1902, when back with the Reds, Hoy batted against pitcher
Luther
Haden "Dummy" Taylor of the New York Giants, on May 16, 1902, during
his last major league season. That was the only time in major league
history that two deaf players have ever faced each other. The Giants
won 5-3. To end his career, Hoy plated for Los Angeles of the Pacific
Coast
Winter League, after being released by the Reds in August of 1902. He
played 211 games and stole 43 bases. He caught a fly ball in the fog to
clinch the pennant for Los Angeles, in his last play.
