Deaf Major Leaguers

[Brian McKenna]

Deaf Major Leaguers
Ed Dundon pitcher 1883-84
Tom Lynch pitcher 1884
William Hoy outfielder 1888-1902
Reuban Stephenson outfielder 1892
Luther Taylor pitcher 1900-08
George Leitner pitcher 1901-02
William Deegan pitcher 1901
Dick Sipek outfielder 1945
Curtis Pride outfielder 1993-
Being that times are different, Sipek was the first deaf-mute not to be nicknamed “Dummy.” John Ryn is thought to be the first deaf ballplayer. His career may have started as early as the 1870s. In the minors deaf-mute George Kihm played first base from 1895-1911, racking up 2,245 hits and a .293 batting average. Lefthander Ryan Ketchner pitched at Triple-A Las Vegas for the Dodgers during the 2005 season. There is a Dummy Murphy listed in the encyclopedia but that nickname seems to stem from his four errors on April 24, 1914 and subsequent misplays.

[Buzzaldrin]

You know how Dummy Taylor used to indicate his displeasure with umpires' calls on his pitches that he disagreed with?

He held his nose.

[wamby]

A deaf or hard of hearing person playing big-league ball is pretty damn impressive. Playing in the field must be extremely difficult without any sound cues. I've seen pictures of Curtis Pride wearing hearing aids so he might have some residitual hearing that might make it a tiny bit easier. The crack of the bat sounds low frequency to me and maybe Pride can hear some aided low frequency sounds, but the rumble of crowd noises may attenuate any help the hearng aids give him.

[Imapotato]

Dummy Hoy should be in the HOF

He was the one who instituted umpires using hand signals, because he would turn around to see what it was

Plus he was a damn fine hitter, he was top 3 in walks upon his retirement and one of the best CFers of all time

Sam Crawford said he had a grunt/squeek he would do to call off other OFers that was hilarious and hard to hear sometimes

As for Dummy Taylor...I think he and McGraw got tossed one time because Hurts the umpire had a deaf relative and knew sign language...so McGraw and Taylor were using sign language to voice their displeasure with Hurst and he saw it...then tossed them both :)

iin the 1904 pennant race against the Giants and Cubs...the ump got ticked at Sam Mertes after a striek 3 call and then McGraw who also coached 3rd that he also tossed Taylor who coached 1st...saying, lol, that Taylor was making to much noise (most say Taylor never made any noise at all)

[wamby]

He was the one who instituted umpires using hand signals, because he would turn around to see what it was

Is that a true story? I remember reading somewhere that umpires were doing that beofre Dummy Hoy for the benefit of the crowd.

[Brian McKenna]

it probably wasn't hoy but it keeps getting attributed to him - you can't kill these ideas - many keep repeating them over and over again -myths never die

[Imapotato]

Alot more say yea, instead of nay

Including his own website, which was very heavily researched+

Most importantly, Hoy played a pioneering role in the creation of the hand signals still used today in baseball games throughout the world. When he began his professional career in Oshkosh, all umpires’ calls were shouted. While at bat, Hoy had to ask his coach if a ball or strike had been called. The opposing pitcher took advantage of Hoy’s distraction, quick-pitching him—sending out the next pitch before he was ready. (He batted only .219 during his first season.) Around 1887, Hoy wrote out a request to the third-base coach, asking him to raise his left arm to indicate a ball, his right arm for a strike. Hoy could follow the hand signals after each pitch, and be ready for the next. And the umpires and other players found these signals so useful that they became standard practice—they’re still used everywhere. Hoy adapted the “out” and “safe” signals from ASL.


Thus, the intricate system of baseball hand signals—the umpire’s signals, manager’s call signals to batters, and the outfielders’ call signals now used in all levels of baseball and softball, can be traced to him.


Umpire Bill Klem’s plaque in the Hall of Fame credits him with inventing hand signals (which he is supposed to have done in 1905). But old newspaper clippings as far back as 1888 contain explicit references to Hoy and his hand signals—well before Klem began his umpiring career.



http://www.dummyhoy.com/

and...it makes perfect sense

[Brian McKenna]

doesn't the first sentence of that web site say hoy was the first deaf major leaguer - does that tell a better story? - yes - is it the true? - no - but apparently it doesn't matter to too many

my experience researching these things is this - many are said (or even claim themselves) to be the first to do something - the truth usually is that it happened before them but yes that person may have had a role in the evolution of such

many times things first happen in the minors - perhaps the low minors - they are scantly reported (making it difficult to document) and those reports are in small newspapers which are rarely researched

eventually (perhaps decades from now) researchers will turn their eye to little dinky old newspapers and others that have been overlooked and find references that predate our current knowledge - but you know what - people won't care then either - the myth has already been engraved

[Brian McKenna]

once again - the internet proves to be the worst source for baseball history accuracy - many sites suck you in and you feel you just learned something and then you come to find out your taking garbage in and now it's hard to get rid of - it's called an agenda - that is what that site has - something they want to say or promote and they'll use any fluff to do so - the casual baseball fans are at a huge disadvantage - they will never and can never get it right by surfing the net - i just had this discussion with a lady in the women's forum about jackie mitchell supposedly striking out ruth and gehrig - she just tuned me out and i haven't seen her since

[SABR Steve]

According to "Nineteenth Century Stars," Paul Hines' partial deafness also led to hand signals. I recall reading somewhere that he was beaned in 1886 by Jim Whitney, which resulted in his handicap. Since this thread has revealed so much about hand signals, I've come to the realization that their use can be rightfully attributed to many past players and umpires, not just one.

[TonyK]

I don't have access to my notes right now, but George "Dummy" Kihm was involved in a sad story once about coming so close to your dream but never attaining it.

He was hitting well over .300 in the NY State League one year. A scout for one of the two Boston major leagues teams arrived by train to purchase his contract from his minor league club (it may have been Albany?). Kihm had a game that afternoon so the scout sat down to watch him play first.

Kihm was on first base and he attempted to steal second base. The catcher's throw was high causing the fielder to leap into the air for it. Dummy Kihm slid into second base as the fielder came down and his spikes crushed Kihm's thumb.

While he was led away to visit a doctor, the scout left on the next train with the purchase money for Kihm still on him.

Dummy Kihm never played major league ball. He recovered from his fractured thumb injury, but the door had closed on him that fateful day when he slid into second base.

[caribeño]

Luis Figueroa who is legally deaf played a couple of games for the Pirates in 2001 . A native of Puerto Rico he can read lips both in english and spanish !
A very good fielder ( 2b- ss ) he has made a tremendous improvement in his batting in recent years .
www.workersforjesus.com/dfi/982

[Imapotato]

I was on the 'quotes' page...which if incorrect would be plagarism...but not having a clue...I wouldn't suspect plagarism in everything that is quoted I suppose....nor have I 'read' Glory of the Times...in which I saw the exact quote from Sam Crawford about Dummy Hoy

[Imapotato]

That's what I quoted and you said only someone would out a clue would believe ANYTHING on that site

Those were 3rd party quotes...I wasn't campaigning Hoy for the HOF, just that there is proof that he is credited with starting hand signals

I mean out and safe are straight from ASL...coincidence? maybe but unlikely

Also Hoy began his career the beginning of 1886...and many players used pseudo names because baseball was not 'legit' work...so the name of the P could be Hoy

[Imapotato]

How is some proof from players and sources in that era, including Sam Crawford, a teammate and HOFer not reliable?
It's as reliable as the 'news' clips you provided if not moreso...hell Crawford saying it puts alot of stock in me saying yes, because I am sure Hoy had the reputation when Sam met him and asked "whose the deaf guy?"

as for 1886...I know that is when Hoy started playing in Oskosh, that is not from the site

as for your line...you said "nobody with a clue would take the site or its cause seriously."

Cause, yes, point...the site, that I felt was directed at me...in regards to the paragraph I quoted

[Brian McKenna]

Luis Figueroa who is legally deaf played a couple of games for the Pirates in 2001.

thanks edwin i missed that one

[Hoyfan]

Suffice it to say that the errors you noted on the Dummy Hoy Homeplate have been corrected. Most of the research is being saved for the book, and isn't posted, although a few details have just now been corrected and updated.

As for your comment regarding "plagiarism," be assured that what is done on the Dummy Hoy Homeplate, including the quotations page, properly credits sources. Lawrence Ritter personally gave Deaf Life Press permission to quote from "The Glory of Their Times."

Regarding TonyK's story about George P. "Dummy" Kihm's untimely injury preventing his being signed with a Boston major-league club: what is the source of this story? From what i know of Kihm's career, he played in the Ohio minor leagues, not the New York State League.

[Brian McKenna]

per the minor league register:

kihm played in the ny state lg with troy from 1900-01 - he also played in la, tacoma, wheeling, indianapolis, grand rapids, newark, jackson, michigan and findlay, toledo, fort wayne, new castle, mansfield, columbus

[TonyK]

Regarding TonyK's story about George P. "Dummy" Kihm's untimely injury preventing his being signed with a Boston major-league club: what is the source of this story?

The source of this story is a newspaper writeup after the box score the day after the Boston official visited the ballpark.

[Hoyfan]

I've been doing my homework, and can confidently say that a large number of errors and misconceptions found in previously published books are rectified on the Hoy Homeplate. Some of these include the canards that Hoy was born deaf, that he couldn't talk, that his wife taught him how to speak, that he lived to be 100.

I already obtained the archival quotes regarding Dundon's umpiring signals, a couple of years ago, and more besides. Only a few scraps of documentation are posted on the Hoy Homeplate. I decided against updating that section until after the book's out.

I believe in properly crediting sources, and also in getting as close to the original sources as possible. The earliest reference I've been able to find on umpires' signals (and these being used in an all-deaf game) is vintage Spring 1867, a published account of the baseball team of the National Deaf-Mute College--the same college that is now Gallaudet University.

Thanks for the info, TonyK...how is it you were able to find so much about "Dummy" Kihm? Do you have more specific info on that Boston-scout story, such as the name of the newspaper and the date? Do you have Kihm's dates or birth and death? I've been going through "Sporting Life" microfilm reels to excavate info about Hoy, and it's been agonizingly slow going. What I've found about Kihm really doesn't amount to much...primarily some paragraphs in the old and new "Silent Worker."

I'm a staunch believer in properly crediting my sources, so if you're up to sharing any information, you'll be credited for it.

Well, I'm gonna drop my 50-megaton question as long as I'm at it...anybody have a good photo of him?

[WrightWing]

You mean Kihm? Here's one found doing a Google search.

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/f/a/l/Vincent-E-Falter/PHOTO/0029photo.html

Hope this helps...

[TonyK]

I'm a staunch believer in properly crediting my sources, so if you're up to sharing any information, you'll be credited for it.

I'm a staunch believer in looking things up for myself. Perhaps you can look up some newspapers from NYSL cities on microfilm and find out even more about Dummy Kihm? That's what I would do if I planned on writing about him.

I wasn't researching Kihm but the league itself for that season. When I discover a nugget like that story I like to write it down. Good Luck!

[Hoyfan]

I'm confident that the "Hoy Homeplate" is essentially accurate as regards Hoy's career and stats. I've reviewed and updated most of it, excepting a passage about the HOF Veterans Committee. The rules were changed in 2002, and after I re-review the current situation, I'll incorporate the changes. That's fairly minor, though.

I will let other visitors to the site decide for themselves whether it's valueless or not, and whether it deserves to be taken seriously or not. After we launched the site, our PR contact from the National Baseball Hall of Fame E-mailed us to compliment us. We intend to augment and improve the site, with a page highlighting the careers of other deaf players...hopefully with good-quality images.


TonyK, thanks for the suggestion. I have found the microfilm-combing process agonizingly slow, and every session leaves me with an eyeache. Do you have a general notion of the year and city of the newspaper you mentioned? I believe in looking things up too...I'm still searching for the primary sources of some familiar quotes, such as the Henry Furness quote about spectators "wildly waving hats and arms" to Hoy. There's a reference to it in one of David Quentin Voigt's books, but when I borrowed the microfilm reel containing the issue of "Sporting Life" cited in the footnote, it turned out to be a special bicycling issue...and I had to return the reel without having located it. But the same footnote contained a citation to another issue of "Sporting Life." Gads, this can get habit-forming.

It costs us $5 a pop to request microfilm reels via interlibrary loan, so I think you can see why I'm anxious to pinpoint the sources. I also use SABR's Lending Library, which is a blessing.

I'd love to explore Kihm's career (it was a long one--19 years!)...but right now, I have to focus on Hoy. Kihm is mentioned in our chapter on other deaf players. Reuben C. Stephenson put in a brief stint on the Philadelphia Phillies, subbing for Ed Delahanty during his recuperation from an injury, but had to leave the team after Delahanty resumed his regular spot. He never played in the majors again, unfortunately. In a tale that's reminiscent of the spiked-thumb story you recounted, Arthur "Big Six" Rasmussen was slated to have a tryout with Clark Griffith's Washington Senators, but was stricken with tonsillitis, which subverted his plans--permanently. (And Clark Griffith, having been Hoy's old captain/manager, knew sign language.) By the time Rasmussen recovered, it was too late. He never got his "break" in the majors. George Leitner and William Deegan were Luther Haden Taylor's fellow pitchers on the New York Giants--briefly. They were dismissed after John McGraw took over and did his bit of radical house-cleaning.

There are other early deaf players I'm trying to find more about: Lester Rosson, Harry Dix, Dalton Fuller, ? Gillespie, ? McDonough, ? McLaughlin, Charles Whitney. Some were alumni of the Ohio School for the Deaf, others from other states.

As for Ed Dundon, he was the pioneer, the trail-blazer. I have brought together what I've been able to learn about him, which, admittedly, ain't much. I know of no letters or other writings from him...no autographs that I'm aware of. (But then, the Giamatti Library at the HOF might have a contract or two.) There's a poignant group photo of the Syracuse Stars showing Dundon standing next to Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first black major-leaguer.

Buzzaldrin, thanks for the citation. Coincidentally, I did manage to locqate that genealogical site--and the photo--a few days ago...a good find! The photo does indeed corroborate what a contemporary account said of him--that he was a handsome fellow.

Anyobody here know how to contact Bill James?

[Mischa]

Luis Figueroa who is legally deaf played a couple of games for the Pirates in 2001 . A native of Puerto Rico he can read lips both in english and spanish !
A very good fielder ( 2b- ss ) he has made a tremendous improvement in his batting in recent years .
www.workersforjesus.com/dfi/982

Wrong Luis Figueroa. The deaf Luis Figueroa (Luis Daniel Figueroa) is primarily a third baseman and never made the majors despite several years at AAA. The MLB Luis Figueroa (Luis R. Figueroa) was primarily a shortstop before becoming a utility infielder later and is not deaf.

For information on both Figueroas, see http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Luis_D._Figueroa
and
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Luis_Figueroa

[THE OX]

I had heard somewhere that 1950s Yankees super utility infielder Gil McDougald had a very substantial hearing loss. I don't know if this began to manifest itself during his playing career, but I think his last year or two with the Yankees might have been during the decline in his hearing.

He certainly was the quintessential "super-sub" infielder, good enough to start at 2B, SS, and 3B on any team!