In October 1961 at Crowley Field in Cincinnati Ohio an old deaf gentleman named William E. Hoy stood up to throw the first ball of the World Series. Most people at Crowley Field on that day probably did not remember Hoy because he had retired (退休) from profess-ional baseball 58 years earlier in 1903. However he had been an outstanding player and the deaf people still talk about him and his years in baseball.
William E. Hoy was born in Houckstown Ohio on May 23, 1862. He became deaf when he was two years old. He attended the Columbus Ohio School for the deaf. After graduation he started playing baseball while working as a shoemaker.
Hoy began playing professional baseball in 1886 for Oshkosh (Wisconsin) of the Northw- estern League. In 1888 he started as an outfielder (外场手) with the old Washington Senators. His small figure and speed made him an outstanding base runner. He was very good at stealing bases during his career. In the 1888 major league season he stole 82 bases. He was also the Senators’ leading hitter in 1888. Hoy was clever and he threw right-handed and batted left-handed, on June 19, 1889 he threw out three batters (击球手) at the plate from his outfield position.
The arm signals used by judges today to show balls and strikes began because of Hoy. The judge lifted his right arm to show that the pitch was a strike and his left arm to signal that it was a ball.
For many years people talked about Hoy’s last ball in 1903. He was playing for Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast Winter League. It was a memorable because Hoy hit a wonderful ball which won the . It was a very foggy day and therefore very hard to see the ball. In the ninth inning (棒球的一局) with two men out, Hoy managed to catch a fly ball to make the third out in spite of the fog. Los Angeles defeated their opposition and won the .
After he retired Hoy stayed busy. He ran a dairy farm near Cincinnati for 20 years. He also became a public speaker and traveled giving speeches. Until a few years before his death he took 4—10 mile walks several mornings a week. On December 15,1961 William Hoy died at the age of 99.
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