William Hoy Research Paper

Many people see being deaf as a disability, but deaf people do not see it that way. Throughout the years, many accomplishments have been made by deaf people. One of them being William Hoy. William Hoy, also known as "Dummy", was the most successful deaf baseball player in Major League history. He played center field for several teams from 1888 to 1902. He developed most of his reputation while playing for the Cincinnati Reds and two teams from Washington, D.C.. As a result of William Hoy being a deaf baseball player, the use of hand signals was established to be used for him and have been used ever since.
Born hearing in the small city of Houcktown, Ohio, Hoy became deaf after suffering from meningitis at age three and since he was so young this also affected his ability to speak. In Hoy's time, the word "dumb" was used to describe someone who could not speak. Since the ability to speak portrayed a person’s intelligence, the terms "dumb" and "dummy" became associated with deaf people because they could not speak well. With time Hoy himself often corrected people who addressed him as William, and referred to himself as Dummy even though he was in fact, said to be one of the
smartest baseball players. Despite his deafness and inability to speak properly he continued to play baseball throughout his life. He later went on to graduate as valedictorian from the Ohio School for the Deaf in Columbus. Following high school he opened a shoe repair store in his hometown and played baseball only on weekends until it became his full time career. Hoy became the third deaf player in the Major Leagues, after pitcher Ed Dundon and pitcher Tom Lynch.
Hoy’s teammates did not know sign language until he taught it to him and that is how hand signals were developed. The same hand signals that are used by umpires to this day. They say that when he tried to talk to them it resembled a squeak. Hoy's speed was a great advantage in the outfield. He set a Major League record by throwing out three runners at home plate in one game. After he had been traded by teams a couple times, in 1893, he was eventually traded to the Cincinnati Red, where he retired from. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of fame and later Gallaudet University named the baseball field in his honor, William “Dummy” Hoy baseball field.
I chose to do my report on William “Dummy” Hoy because being a deaf athlete on a hearing team is a huge accomplishment.
Although he was not born deaf, he lost his hearing early enough on his life that he never learned to talk, making communication harder. William “Dummy” Hoy made an impact on the deaf community by setting records and following his dreams even if though the rest of society thought he was dumb. During this time period there was very little knowledge about the Deaf community. This was a great opportunity for many people of that time to be introduced to the way deaf people interact with society with the same physical abilities just different communications. It goes to show that deaf people can still do the same things as hearing people, proving that hearing loss is not a
disability.