When it comes to legends, few can equal the accomplishments of William Ellsworth ‘Dummy’ Hoy, a deaf mute who was born during the Civil War (1862) in Houcktown. Hoy, who communicated by hand signals, is recognized in baseball lore as the player whose suggestion in 1887 resulted in present-day gestures used by umpires for balls and strikes. During 15 seasons as a major league outfielder, he batted .291 in 1,784 games with Washington, Buffalo, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Chicago. He hit over .300 in three seasons with a high of .318 for 148 games in 1898. Hoy was the leadoff batter for the White Sox in his first American League game. He stole 605 bases in his career with a National League high of 82 bases in 1888. He finished his career with more than 2,000 hits. One of his chronicled feats was throwing out three runners at home plate in one game – a record that still stands – while with the Washington Senators in 1889. Hoy led the majors in fielding one season and threw out a major league high of 45 runners in 1900.

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