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William “Dummy” Hoy is the best deaf player in baseball history. Hoy contracted meningitis in the last year of the US Civil War when he was three years old. Deaf and mute from that day forward, Hoy lived a colorful 99-year life.

At age nine he enrolled in the Ohio School for the Deaf in 1872. The intelligent and hardworking Hoy graduated high school as the school’s valedictorian.

Soon he began playing semi-pro baseball. A star from the outset, Hoy dreamed of playing in the big leagues. Teams shied away from signing him because of his hearing.

Hoy finally got his break with the National League’s Washington Nationals in 1888. A rookie at age 26, Hoy led the league with 82 stolen bases.

He also holds the distinction of starting the first game in American League history. The contest was held at Chicago on April 24, 1901. Hoy was the White Sox centerfielder and leadoff man, making him the first man to bat in franchise history.

That season Hoy hit .294 with a .407 on-base percentage aided by a league-leading 86 walks. His performance helped the White Sox win the first pennant in AL history.

At just 5’4″, the speedy Hoy sported a small strike zone. That helped him lead the league in in 1881 for the American Association’s St. Louis Browns and again in the aforementioned season of 1901. Hoy posted an on-base percentage of .400 or better in 5 of his 14 seasons.

By the time he retired, Hoy was baseball’s all time leader in game played by a center fielder. He also held the marks for outfield chances and putouts. Hoy’s big league career totaled 1,797 games, 2,048 hits, 1,006 walks, and a .386 on-base percentage. He scored 100 or more runs in eight seasons, crossing the plate 1,429 times in 14 years.

Some credit Hoy with the origination of umpire hand signals for balls and strikes and safe and out calls. Hoy himself never made such a claim. No contemporary newspaper or magazine articles support the assertion.

Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem is thought to be the first arbiter to employ hand signals. Klem began in the big leagues two years after Hoy’s final game.

In retirement Hoy became a dairy farmer and later a personnel director for Goodyear Tire. When he received a Lifetime Pass to all MLB game, Hoy attended many games each season.

In the collection is this autographed government postcard from 1949.

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Dummy Hoy had a fine 14-year big league career. After amassing more than 2,000 hits, Hoy is clearly the greatest deaf player in the history of the game. Historically relevant, Hoy hit the second grand slam in American League history – obviously the first by a deaf player – and owned many defensive records at the time of his retirement.

Hoy played five years for Cincinnati Reds from 1894-1897 and in his last season in 1902. During that time he hit .293 with a .392 on-base percentage. More than a century after his retirement he was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2003.

Shown here is the back of the government postcard signed by Dummy Hoy. Notice the postmark of January 11, 1949.

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The upstart American League was founded in 1901. Its first game was played on April 24^th with the White Sox playing host to the Cleveland Blues.

Dummy Hoy was the Chicago leadoff man and centerfielder that day. When he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first he became the first batter in White Sox history.

Chicago beat Cleveland 8-1 in the Junior Circuit’s inaugural contest. Baseball’s greatest deaf player, Hoy went 1-for-5 and made three putouts in the field.

Hoy’s Chicago club won its first two games and never spent a day under the .500 mark. The White Sox were shutout in only two games all season. They spent 139 days in first place and finished the season 85-53 with one tie to capture the AL’s first pennant.

Centerfielder Hoy did his part. He led the league in walks, and posted a .407 on-base percentage good for fourth in the league. His age-39 season saw him place 4^th in the AL in runs, 5^th in doubles, and 6^th in WAR among position players.

The pitching staff was led by 237-game winner and Hall of Fame executive Clark Griffith. The only man to play, manage, and own a club for at least 20 years each, Griffith was the ace of the White Sox staff. The Old Fox went 24-7 and led the league in winning percentage and shutouts. He was also the team’s manager.

In the collection is this letter signed by Griffith. It’s dated November 16, 1943 on Senators letterhead that lists him as team president.

Griffith writes about the champion of the American League, “Yes, I managed the White Sox in 1901 when we won the pennant. The lineup of the team was Isbell, first base; Mertes, second base; Sugart shortstop; Hoffman (sic), third base; Jones, centerfield; Hoy, left field; McFarland, right field, Billy Sullivan and Joe Sugden were the catchers; and the pitchers were Patterson, Callahan, Griffith, Platt, and Katoll.”

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William “Dummy” Hoy was the centerfielder and leadoff man for the American League’s first pennant winner, the 1901 Chicago White Sox. His squad also played in the inaugural game in AL history.

The league’s first batter was Ollie Pickering of the Cleveland Blues on April 24, 1901. When he slapped pitcher Roy Patterson’s second offering to center field, Hoy caught the ball to record the first out in Junior circuit history.

The 1901 season was the best of Pickering’s eight-year big league career. He established career highs in batting average (.309), on-base percentage (.383), OPS+ (115), and WAR (3.5).

Shown here is a letter handwritten and signed in 1931 by Pickering.