History Of Umpiring Learn the fascinating history of
umpiring.The first hand signaling was for a deaf baseball player
who was one of the best major league players of his era, William
"Dummy" Hoy. Did you ever wonder what caused an umpire to first
signal a called strike by raising his right hand? Watching
umpires it's almost as if they think the players are deaf. Or
maybe the hand signals for balls and strikes have always been
for the benefit of the fans who can't hear the call from so far
away. Actually an umpire did first signal balls and strikes with
his hand for a deaf baseball player who was one of the best
major league players of his era, William "Dummy" Hoy. Before he
suggested the signals to an umpire in 1887, Hoy had to read the
lips of the umpire to know if each pitch was a strike or ball.
The pitchers on the other teams often took advantage of the
situation to throw the next pitch before he was ready. Born a
deaf mute during the Civil War in Houcktown, Ohio, Hoy isn't in
the National Baseball Hall o