What I Learned from a (Deaf) Baseball Player – From Lipreading Mom

I’m reblogging this awesome article, as written by Shanna Groves of Lipreading Mom. It’s the story of early baseball legend William Hoy. Many of us baseball fans have heard of Hoy, but few may have known that he was Deaf.

Hoy went by the nickname ‘Dummy.’ I shudder when I write that name because in 2012 it is considered by many a derogatory word, one that implies that a person isn’t smart. But in the era in which Hoy lived and played baseball—the late 1800s to early 1900s—his alias implied a person who was deaf and mute (not oral).

I liked this post, not only because I’m a devotee of the game, but because I enjoy Ms. Groves’ writing style. Her voice is much more casual and selfless than my own.

A hundred years ago, a person who was deaf did not have the resources that I tend to take for granted today. Vocational rehabilitation counseling. Hearing assistive technology. Sign language awareness in business and in schools, with the exception of schools for the Deaf, which were available in Hoy’s day and which he attended. Sensitivity to the needs of people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

 

 

 

Want to read more? Here’s the link to her page:

http://lipreadingmom.com/2012/09/10/what-i-learned-from-a-deaf-baseball-player/

If Hoy were alive today, and playing for the Red Sox, we might have had a better season than we did this year.

And he would have come much cheaper than our 50 million dollar gaggle of losers! 🙂

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• What I Learned from a (Deaf) Baseball Player (lipreadingmom.com)
• Why Can’t This Young Boy Sign His Name at School? (deafinprison.wordpress.com)
• Would You Trade Passion for Hearing? (deafmomworld.com)
• Reading Levels and the Jail Medical Psychological Intake Form (deafinprison.wordpress.com)
• What I Learned from a (Deaf) Girl Scout (lipreadingmom.com)
• Why Going Deaf Was a Blessing for Me (lipreadingmom.com)