William “Dummy” Ellsworth Hoy
Mr. Hoy was nicknamed “Dummy” in the late of 1800s. He was born on May 23, 1862, in the small town of Houcktown, Ohio.
Hoy became deaf after suffering from meningitis at age of three, and went on to graduate from the Ohio State School for the Deaf in Columbus as class valedictorian.
He opened a shoe repair store in his hometown and played baseball on weekends, earning a professional contract in 1886 with an Oshkosh,...