William Ellsworth Hoy was born on May 23, 1862 in Houcktown, Ohio. When William was 2 years old, he contracted meningitis and it caused him to lose his hearing. 

Back then, the word “dumb” was used to describe someone who could not speak. Hoy actually referred to himself as “Dummy” instead of William and often corrected people.

Expectations for the deaf then were low, Dummy's parents figured he’d learn how to cobble shoes and live at home his entire life..... but he had bigger ideas.

In the summer as a youth, Hoy played baseball in his neighborhood. One day a passerby at a game asked Hoy to play for the Kenton Ohio team against a local squad. And so he did.

In 1886, Hoy signed with a professional team in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The umpire's balls and strikes calls in the league confused Hoy, because he couldn't hear them and the stadium had no scoreboard for him to follow the score. 

So, the third-base coach signaled him by raising his left index finger for a ball, the right for a strike.