Deaf Sports

William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy

Some may wonder how the deaf are able to play sports, or if they're actually allowed to play sports at all. Many would wonder how sports were played because when playing sports the referee's and team mates will yell out calls and plays. There are a few changes that make people who are deaf able to play sports. Instead of using whistles, most sports will use a flag or something visual that makes it easier for these individuals to play. Some may think only one sport allowed people who were deaf to play one sport, but in reality there was many. Softball, basketball and volleyball are the other sports that were promoted by the deaf community. Over time, baseball became the most common sport to be played among people who were deaf. There were four baseball players who actually made it professionally, William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy was one of them. William was the most famous one of them all because he was the one who made up signals for baseball games.