| William Hoy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: May 23, 1862 Houcktown, Ohio, U.S. | |
| Died: December 15, 1961 (aged 99) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1888, for the Washington Nationals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 17, 1902, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .288 |
| Hits | 2,048 |
| Runs batted in | 725 |
| Stolen bases | 596 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy (May 23, 1862 – December 15, 1961) was an American professional baseball center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for several teams from 1888 to 1902, most notably the Cincinnati Reds and two Washington, D.C. franchises.
Hoy is the most accomplished deaf player in MLB history, and is credited by some sources with causing the establishment of signals for safe and out calls.[1][2][3] He held the MLB record for games in center field (1,726) from 1889 to 1902, set records for career putouts (3,958) and total chances (4,625) as an outfielder, and retired among the leaders in outfield games (2nd; 1,795), assists (7th; 273), and double plays (3rd; 72).
He was an excellent baserunner, scoring over 100 runs nine times, and often finishing among the top base stealers. He is one of only 29 players to have played in four different Major Leagues. His 1,006 career walks put him second in MLB history behind Billy Hamilton when he retired. He ended his career ranking eighth in career games played (1,796).
- ^ Sandy and Miller, p. 48.
- ^ Gould, pp 127–9 refutes this.
- ^ Gannon, Jack. 1981. Deaf Heritage–A Narrative History of Deaf America, Silver Spring, Maryland: National Association of the Deaf, pp. 291–295 (PDF Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine)(PDF Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine)