Field of Dreams

Spring is in the air! With the arrival of spring comes our American past time known as baseball. With Major League Baseball just beginning their season earlier this month, I thought it's a great time to talk about baseball players who were hearing impaired. There were only a handful of player who were hearing impaired that ever made it to the pinnacle of baseball which is the Major League. According to Wikipedia, the last known player to play in the majors was Curtis Pride who played from 1993 to 2006. 

Did you know that the first known hearing impaired baseball player who played in the major league was over a hundred years ago? 

Edward "Dummy" Dundon

Edward "Dummy" Dundon was credited as the first professional baseball player who was deaf. He was a pitcher who played for the Columbus Colts from 1883 to 1884. At the time, the Columbus Colts were known as a major league level team. Ed Dundon was reported by the Sporting News in a 1996 article to have used hand signals to call balls and strikes. Even though, Ed Dundon was credited for being the first hearing impaired player, he is largely forgotten and overshadowed by the next player who played in the major leagues.

William "Dummy" Hoy

William "Dummy" Hoy is arguably the most famous and the most accomplished major league player who was  hearing impaired.  According to Wikipedia, William "Dummy" Hoy was born in Houcktown, Ohio, He became deaf at the age of three after suffering from meningitis. He went on to graduate from the Ohio State School for the Deaf in Columbus, Ohio as class valedictorian. In 1888, with the Washington Nationals of the American Association, Hoy became only the third deaf player in the major leagues, after pitcher Ed Dundon and pitcher Tom Lynch who was a pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings in 1884. Hoy went on to play for several teams before ending his major league career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1902. Hoy retired with a .287 batting average, 2044 hits, 1426 runs, 726 runs batted in, 248 doubles, 121 triples and 40 home runs. He had 487 stolen bases from 1888 through 1897 according to Wikipedia. In 1951 he was the first deaf athlete to be elected for membership in the American Athletic Association of the Deaf Hall of Fame. William "Dummy" Hoy lived to he was 99 years old and was regarded as role model and hero in the American deaf community in the early 20th century.

Even though the number of  hearing impaired players who ever made it to the major leagues were only a handful but they all overcame great odds to achieve their lifelong dreams of playing professional baseball. Some of the men were given the moniker "Dummy" but these men were never dumb at all.  So, being hearing impaired should not stop you from achieving your field of dreams. 

What are your field of dreams?