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  • Essay / William Hoy: A Deaf Baseball Player Who Changed the Game

    Many little boys grow up dreaming of making it to the MLB. Very few have the honor of pursuing this dream. It takes hard work, dedication and pure talent. It also takes an extremely humble, kind and respected character to live up to MLB's expectations. These expectations couldn't better explain William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy. Hoy is a baseball role model that many look up to, due to the character traits he exhibits. It is said that there are no wicked bones in his body. His determination, compassion and selflessness touched the hearts of many. I chose to write my research paper on William Hoy because baseball is close to my heart. I grew up in Cooperstown, New York. Even though I am an avid New York Yankees fan and Hoy played for the Cincinnati Reds, I am still very intrigued by Hoy's story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayWilliam Hoy was born in Houcktown, Ohio, on May 23, 1862. Hoy was born hearing, and it was not until At the age of three he acquired hearing loss. He lost his hearing due to a severe case of meningitis. Meningitis is a viral or bacterial disease that causes swelling of the meninges of the brain, causing extreme headaches, fever, seizures, delirium and death. However, Hoy was lucky to survive and only lost his hearing. Hoy grew up on a farm with his parents, Jacob and Rebecca Hoffman, three siblings. His education included graduating from the Ohio School of the Deaf in 1879 and being valedictorian of his high school class. After graduating, he opened his own shoe repair shop, but got caught up in baseball. As crazy as it sounds, all it took for his baseball career to begin was for him to be noticed by a passing man. The man approached him and asked if he wanted to play baseball for the Kenton, Ohio, team. The man was a little discouraged by the fact that he was deaf and had a very squeaky voice. However, he still decided to give it a chance. After impressing everyone with his baseball skills, William was promoted to the major leagues, playing for the Washington Nationals. He played for several other major league teams after the Nationals, but most of his success came during his time with the Cincinnati Reds. William Hoy called himself a “dummy.” The society William was born into labeled mute people as “stupid.” This is why the nickname Dummy was born. However, as his fame grew in the media, his fans and team members refused to call him a model. They called him “Bill,” “Billie,” “Will,” or “Willie.” Hoy corrected them when they called him by one of those names and said "call me stupid." He struggled to be taken seriously on the field. He had difficulty communicating with his teammates, as well as with the referees. He was doubted growing up because no one believed he would be able to become a famous baseball player because he was deaf. An article titled “William Hoy, Cooperstown and the Meaning of (Inability)” states that Hoy himself said: “As for the shouting of my own coaches, that meant nothing to me. They had good intentions, but I couldn't take my eyes off the ball and watch them. So I had to go solo. I was always mentally calculating in advance all the possible plays on goal and on the field. "Eventually, as he gained the respect of his.