It was a major turning point for the Pirates as a franchise. When he began his professional career in Oshkosh, all umpires' calls … Born in Ohio. Maybe Dummy Hoy didn’t hit as many home runs as Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron or have as many singles as Ty Cobb or Pete Rose. When William “Dummy” Hoy stepped onto a major-league baseball field in 1888, he began to make history. In any case, the 1887 win was Hoy’s break to get time in the major leagues. He hit .254 in 137 games, scoring 115 runs. Hoy was born on the 23rd of May in 1862 in Houck town, Ohio, this is where he got the nickname “Dummy”. Louisville was willing to play in 1900 and there was talk that Hoy would be their player-manager if the club continued to play. The fact that he was a full-time center fielder speaks volumes to his level of play. There have been a number of Deaf athletes that were nicknamed “Dummy.” I haven’t watched it yet, so no idea if it is any good. Baseball Manager. Indeed, he referred to himself as “Dummy” and politely corrected those who, for whatever reason, called him “William.” Hoy would have been an exceptional man with or without his handicap. At least something good happened for the North that day. As I was compiling the names, one name which caught my attention was a center fielder from the 1901 team, Dummy Hoy. After two seasons with the Louisville Colonels, he signed with the White Sox for the 1900 (a minor league year) and 1901 seasons, played another season in 1902 with Cincinnati, then retired. Thanks again. From Oshkosh in base ball (1913): Messrs. Edgar P. Sawyer, Joseph Porter, S.W. Before the trade, they had 18 seasons without a first place finish. On a lighter note to today’s proceedings: Timmy, still awesome. You can find that here. Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Des Moines and Oshkosh composed the Northwestern League. There’s a crappy version up on YouTube. In 1886, Oshkosh baseball turned professional, then had its most successful season in 1887 thanks in part to one-time lumber baron and otherwise local business magnate and philanthropist, Edgar Sawyer. I always enjoy baseball history articles. That could be said for about a dozen different players the Sox have employed the last several years. At the age of three, Hoy became deaf after an attack on meningitis. Born during the height of the Civil War on May 23, 1862 in Houcktown, Ohio, Hoy had the misfortune of coming down with a case of meningitis when he was just 3 years old which left him both deaf and unable to speak. For 16 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit. If you want more on Hoy, I’d suggest this movie. Hoy was in that group. With four of those players still around year later, they also won the 1909 World Series title. Dummy Hoy Popularity . Hoy was a distant relative of mine and my grandfather would tell the stories of his uncle, “Dummy.” After retiring, he raised his nephew, Paul Helms, who would become an important figure in collegiate athletics especially in Southern California. In the past, however it was common for people to use the word "dummy" to simply mean that a person was silent or mute. In 1899, he led the league in games played, plate appearances and at-bats, while putting up a .305 average and 33 stolen bases. The movie is called, “The Silent Natural,” It is produced by David Risotto. With Deanne Bray, Ryan Lane, Roy Firestone, Victoria Lea Rudd. Dummy Hoy’s real name is William Ellsworth Hoy but he was also known as Dummy, Billy Hoy, and Bill Hoy. He ended up living a long life, passing away at 99 years old in 1962. View the movie or read the book to discover his successful plan. Thanks for the story, Ted. DUMMY HOY: A Deaf Hero - brought hand-signals to the game of baseball and sill waiting to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall-of-Fame. William Ells worth “Dummy” Hoy (1862-1961) was the first deaf player to have a long career in the major leagues. They kept their own best players, but added Hall of Famers Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Rube Waddell, as well as key contributors in Tommy Leach, Deacon Phillippe and Claude Ritchey, which helped the Pirates to the 1901-03 NL pennants. 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. To Hoy, his condition wasn’t an excuse; it was what it was. In 1879, Hoy graduated as valedictorian of his class at the Ohio School for the Deaf and opened his own shoe shop. Taylor told Baseball Magazine that the nickname “Dummy” was not a problem. Dummy Hoy Fans Also Viewed . He would have been an interesting player to have as a former member of the Pirates for these history columns, even if his stay was short. William “Dummy” Hoy became Deaf at the age of three. John Montgomery Ward. He also once belonged to the Pittsburgh Pirates, something that I just learned days before I wrote this article. If you’ve read our previous One Who Got Away features, then you know the general feel to them. Now, I’d be less-than-truthful if I said that the statistics are what drew my eye. In 1902, he played for the Reds and batted .290 in 72 games, which was his last MLB action. Put Dummy Hoy in the Hall of Fame. Although the term dummy to describe someone who can’t hear or speak is insulting today, it wasn’t considered as such in Hoy’s era, and it was what he called himself. I’m not sure how you make up a 14 game deficit, but it apparently happened to the 1887 ballclub: The opening games resulted disastrously to the Oshkosh team. Most Popular #59860. Others include Dummy Deegan, Dummy Leitner, Dummy Lynch, Dummy Murphy and Dummy Stephenson. There appears to have been a doc about him as well: Steve Sandy, a Deaf researcher, studied William “Dummy” Hoy for 30 years! Hoy announced it himself in the Cincinnati Times-Star, writing that he wasn’t offered a contract by the Pirates by March 1st, which was required in order for a team to retain a player’s rights. He played center field for several teams. Dummy Hoy and Dummy Taylor Today, the word “dummy” is considered offensive and is used with the intent to insult someone. He had 82 steals as a rookie to lead the National League. Hoy was deaf and hence called “Dummy.” Individuals and for that matter “Deaf” players of the era were called “Dummy.” It was a term that Hoy used to describe himself. A young player with the Pittsburgh Pirates is moved before he becomes a star player elsewhere. For further reading, I’d recommend SABR’s excellent biographical profile of Hoy, which I referred to extensively when summarizing his early life. Dummy Hoy was a deaf mute. That’s fantastic. Modern stats for defensive WAR credits (or discredits) him with -10.8 dWAR, bringing down his career total to 32.6 WAR. It didn’t happen though, but now you know that the Pirates briefly had one of the greats of the 19th century. So you might ask, what exactly did they give up by letting him go for nothing? In short, William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy should be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Yeah but that basically means you are counting on Eaton to play everyday. If you’d like to read more about the history of baseball in Oshkosh, the Wisconsin Historical Society has digitized the publication I referenced above, Oshkosh in base ball, available here. In the 1880s, men who could neither hear nor speak didn’t play professional baseball. His…, This article is going to be a bit different than the previous The One Who Got Away articles. This one is a bit different than previous articles in this series. Tom Brown. You could also make a case that Honus Wagner could have covered first base, where Duff Cooley hit .201 in 66 games. This didn't seem to bother Hoy, as when people would refer to him as William, he would correct them and ask them to call him “Dummy”. Mr. Hoy was nicknamed “Dummy” in the late of 1800s. Please consider a … Everyone here should know about the famous Honus Wagner trade. WCGO radio’s Mike Nowak co-wrote a play about Hoy back in the 80s called “The Signal Season of Dummy Hoy.” It had a short run at the New York Theatre for the Deaf a few years ago. Thanks for this great article Ted! You and Jim have a knack to write them quite interestingly. Hoy played in … Finally on March 13th, the Pittsburgh Press announced that Hoy was “released some time ago”. He was still a good player, so he would have strengthened the 1900 Pirates, though his playing time would have been limited. The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired 12 players in a December 1899 trade with the Louisville Colonels, which turned the Pirates into a powerhouse. When people called him William, Billy or Bill he corrected them because he preferred Dummy. He is one of the more well-known players from that era. Facing challenges on every front he conquers all with his belief and determination; a true hero. Baseball Player Born in Ohio #11. A true story of a courageous boy who becomes a legend. But he did more. Posted by Ted Mulvey | Mar 22, 2020 | White Sox History | 13. I think I need to use the ifelse function to create the new dummy variable to translate as 'if the date is before '2012.03.01' then = 0, if after the date '2012.0301 then =1'. Hoy succeeded despite a whole world of naysayers. We work 7 days a week, 16 hours a day for our labor of love, but with rising hosting and associated costs, we need your help! The first mention of Hoy with the Pirates came on February 26, 1900 in the Pittsburgh Press. They all…, In this installment of The One Who Got Away, we are taking a look at a key member of the…, On December 11, 1975, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a trade with the New York Yankees that was an immediate disaster…, This is our fifth article in a new history series called The One Who Got Away. Click to see full answer. Thank you for the article. Dummy Dundon and Dummy Hoy were the first professional baseball players to receive the appellation. Since 1989, Sandy has studied the life of William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy, the deaf centerfielder whose story is the stuff of underdogs. Not the kindest of nicknames, to be sure, but Hoy himself went by it and evidently corrected people who referred to him by “William”. Thanks again! Several weeks ago on a Sporcle Saturday, we took a look at center fielders in franchise history who were worth at least 2 wins above replacement. Hoy still would have been a good player to keep as an extra, but he would have been paid like a starter if he stayed with the Pirates, and clubs paying full price for an extra player rarely happened during that era. Granted Engel needs to get healthy but Engel in right against a lefty with Leury in left. Geminis. Taylor Tanner Deaf Event “Dummy” Hoy” ASL 1 4-10-16 The movie “ I See the Crowd Roar” was about a Deaf man who wanted to play baseball, and become a professional player in the 1800s. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1027039/ No, it was the name: “Dummy” Hoy. In the parlance of the times, Hoy was “deaf and mute”, hence the nickname “Dummy”. I See The Crowd Roar: The Story of William Dummy Hoy Hoy is noted for … Fred Clarke announced a group of players on March 1st who would go to Spring Training with the club. Did I miss…. Hoy is a historical figure in baseball, especially if you study 19th century baseball. Could you donate $21 for 2021? From there, he played in the Northwest League during the early part of the 1880s, eventually landing a position with a baseball team that brings this story to a personal level: the Oshkosh Everetts/Amateurs of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where I currently live. There is a SshIService that accepts ssh commands and executes them. Two wins over Milwaukee on the last day of the season put the championship with the local team, Oshkosh nosing out Milwaukee by three points! The Louisville club was likely to be cut from the NL at the time, with talks of the league going from 12 teams down to eight clubs. Connie Mack. Nick Etten did go on to have a…, Some of the players we feature here in this series went on to Hall of Fame careers. That’s tereific, thanks. The 1901 season was the only one in which this player appeared for the White Sox (the 1900 minor league club notwithstanding), but it wasn’t too shabby: a .294/.407/.400 triple-slash, the .407 OBP boosted by a league-leading 86 walks and 14 HBPs, plus 155 hits (41 of which went for extra bases). He was born in 1862 in Houcktown, northern Ohio, graduated from Ohio School for the Deaf, began his professional career in 1886, played for several major-league teams from 1888 to 1902, and died in Cincinnati in 1961 at the age of 99 years and 5 months. He remained with the Chicago White Sox the next year, returning him to the majors, even though he didn’t change teams. Gemini Baseball Player #29. Living a dream that wouldn't die; his passion empowered him to historically change the course of baseball. Born in 1862 #8. I just decided…, If you’ve followed this feature on the site, you know that the Pittsburgh Pirates have given away some very talented…, During the 1940s, Eddie Miller provided premium defense at shortstop for the Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies. A great subject for a feature, Ted, thanks. It’s a look at…, This is our fourth article in a new history series called The One Who Got Away. William “Dummy” Hoy was a great ballplayer. It didn’t hurt us. And it looks like there are upcoming screenings for the movie (supposed to be showing at Harper College on 5/2, but doubt that’s happening now). I have tried this, but doesn't work and just produces NAs William “Dummy” Hoy … In a time with baseball could often be heated, Hoy was known for remaining calm and collected, never being thrown out of a game. After an attack on meningitis great ballplayer of three William Ellsworth Hoy baseball players to receive the appellation Stephenson. 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