Dummy Hoy
Dummy Hoy
In 1886 a diminutive ballplayer appeared in the outfield of the National League Washington Senators. He stood 5″5″ (shortest regular OF in history?) and hailed from northern Ohio. He broke in the majors at the age of 26 and would become one of few players to play in 4 different major leagues during his 14 year ML career.
He would become a standout fielder and base runner and is enshrined in the Cincinnati Reds hall of fame. He was born in 1862 and would live to see the Reds lose to the Yankees in 1961 World Series. In fact, he was able to throw out the opening pitch at Crosley Field in 1960 – the Reds Centennial Year – at the age of 98!
“Dummy” Hoy, as he was known, was also the first known deaf player in Major League history. He was discovered in his early 20″s playing pick-up ball during breaks from his cobbling job. He went on to play a couple years with various mid-western minor leagues before making his debut with Washington.
In his rookie season of 1886 he stole 82 bases. While Hoy was a threat on the base paths and a competitive hitter, often drawing many walks, his strength was in the field. He once threw out 3 runners at home plate from the outfield in a single game a record that stands intact. Another fielding feat from Hoy (pardon the alliteration) was his 45 (some accounts 40) assists from the outfield in 1894 another record. Hoy was a fan favorite when he played with his home-Buckeye State Cincinnati club. Being deaf, he was unable to hear the applause from the fans fans reacted by waving hats and standing and waving – Deaf Applause ““ was probably developed to cheer for Hoy.
Also, Hoy is responsible for developing the various hand signals used in baseball today. The umpires strike, out, safe signals were all used for his benefit and hearing players found benefit in the use so the signals stayed. Also, managers and catchers and third base coach’s signals all trace their origin from the teams he was playing on. Managers would send Hoy signals, and being the quarterback of the 1890’s Red’s outfield, he would relay those instructions to other fielders. The same simple bunt, take pitch, make contact signals that are now used for batters before almost every pitch were first used by managers and coaches giving him instructions at the plate.
Hoy retired in 1902 with the AL Chicago White Sox. He was a member of the Junior Circuit’s first Champion in 1901 with the Pale Hose. He finished his career on the west coast with a Minor League team and then retired from baseball to a farm near his hometown in Ohio. Apart from his fielding stats, his most impressive career number is his +/- 600 stolen bases. This ranks him 17th on the all time list.
William Dummy Hoy Career Stats
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
+————–+—+—-+—-+—-+—+–+—+—-+—+–+—+—+—–+—–+—–+—-+—+—+—+—+—+
1888 26 WHS NL 136 503 77 138 10 8 2 29 82 69 48 .274 .374 .338 170 11
1889 27 WHS NL 127 507 98 139 11 6 0 39 35 75 30 .274 .374 .320 162 6
1890 28 BUF PL 122 493 107 147 17 8 1 53 39 94 36 .298 .418 .371 183 8
1891 29 STL AA 141 567 136 165 14 5 5 66 59 119 25 .291 .424 .360 204 12
1892 30 WHS NL 152 593 108 166 19 8 3 75 60 86 23 .280 .375 .354 210 4
1893 31 WHS NL 130 564 106 138 12 6 0 45 48 66 9 .245 .337 .287 162 13
1894 32 CIN NL 126 495 114 148 22 13 5 70 27 87 18 .299 .416 .426 211 12
1895 33 CIN NL 107 429 93 119 21 12 3 55 50 52 8 .277 .363 .403 173 3 6
1896 34 CIN NL 121 443 120 132 23 7 4 57 50 65 13 .298 .403 .409 181 33 13
1897 35 CIN NL 128 497 87 145 24 6 2 42 37 54 .292 .375 .376 187 23 12
1898 36 LOU NL 148 582 104 177 15 16 6 66 37 49 .304 .367 .416 242 19 9
1899 37 LOU NL 154 633 116 194 17 13 5 49 32 61 .306 .376 .398 252 15 10
1901 39 CHW AL 132 527 112 155 28 11 2 60 27 86 .294 .407 .400 211 14 14
1902 40 CIN NL 72 279 48 81 15 2 2 20 11 41 .290 .389 .380 106 12 4
+————–+—+—-+—-+—-+—+–+—+—-+—+–+—+—+—–+—–+—–+—-+—+—+—+—+—+
14 Seasons 7112 2044 121 726 0 210 .287 .386 .373 119 0 0 134 0
1796 1426 248 40 594 1004 2654
