Dummy Taylor
Luther Haden "'Dummy" Taylor' was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908 who was deaf. He played for the New York Giants and Cleveland Bronchos and was one of the key pitchers on the Giants' National League championship teams of 1904 and 1905.
In 1901, his first full season in the major leagues, Taylor led the National League by pitching in 45 games and ranked second in the league with 37 complete games. In 1904, he won 21 games for the Giants, and in 1906 his 2.20 earned run average was the lowest on a pitching staff that included Baseball Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson, and "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity.
Taylor was the only successful deaf pitcher in Major League Baseball and was regarded, along with Dummy Hoy, as a role model and hero for hearing impaired Americans in the early 20th century. In the 1900s, Taylor was reported to be the highest paid deaf person in the United States. He was also known as the comedian of the Giants teams, waving a lit lantern when an umpire refused to call a game due to darkness and coaching at third base in rubber boots when an umpire refused to call a game due to rain.
In 2000, author Darryl Brock wrote the historical novel Havana Heat about Taylor's experience in professional baseball. The book won the Dave Moore Award in 2000 as the "most important baseball book" published that year.
Early years
Taylor was born in Oskaloosa, Kansas in 1875. He was the son of Arnold B. Taylor, a farmer, and his wife, Emaline Taylor. At the time of the 1880 United States census, Taylor was living in rural Jefferson County, Kansas with his parents, two older brothers, and two older sisters. Some accounts indicate Taylor was born deaf. However, at age four, Taylor was not listed as being "deaf and dumb" or otherwise disabled in the family's U.S. Census record. By age 10, Taylor was living at the Kansas School for the Deaf in Olathe, Kansas. He was listed in the 1885 Kansas State Census as a pupil at the Deaf and Dumb Institute.Taylor continued to live at the Kansas School for the Deaf through his high school years. He was a pitcher for the school baseball team and also participated in boxing. Interviewed in 1942, Taylor recalled he had dreams as a boy of becoming a great boxer, but his parents objected. At the time of the 1895 Kansas State Census, Taylor was living in Olathe.
Semi-pro and minor league baseball
After leaving the Kansas School for the Deaf, Taylor began playing semi-pro baseball with a team in Nevada, Missouri. He then played at Lincoln, Illinois, and with minor league teams in Wabash, Crawfordsville, Danville and Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1897, he played for a minor league team in Mattoon, Illinois. He played for the Shreveport Tigers of the Southern League in 1898 and 1899.In 1900, Taylor began the season playing for Albany, New York. At the time of the U.S. Census in June 1900, Taylor was residing at a boarding house in Albany; his occupation was listed as a printer.
Major League Baseball
First stint with Giants
In August 1900, Taylor was called up to the major leagues to play for the New York Giants. He made his major league debut on August 28, 1900. In his first game for the Giants, five Boston players tried to take advantage of Taylor's deafness by trying to steal third base. Interviewed in 1942, Taylor recalled with pride, "I nailed each one. I walked over to Long, the last man caught, and let him know by signs I could hear him stealing." Appearing in 11 games for the 1900 Giants, Taylor compiled a 4–3 record with a 2.45 earned run average.In his second season in the major leagues, Taylor was a workhorse for the 1901 Giants. He led the National League with 43 games started and by appearing in a total of 45 games. He also ranked second in the league with 37 complete games, innings pitched, and 1,518 batters faced. Despite maintaining a respectable 3.18 earned run average, Taylor played for a weak-hitting Giants team that finished seventh out of eight teams in hits and runs produced. With the absence of run support, Taylor finished the season with a win–loss record of 18–27. His 27 losses in 1901 is tied for the second most given up by any pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 20th century.
Cleveland Bronchos
In March 1902, Taylor signed for more money with the Cleveland Bronchos of the American League. He recalled that American League teams were "waving big money at us" in the winter before the 1902 season. Taylor appeared in four games for the Bronchos, all as a starter. Despite a 1.59 earned run average, Taylor again suffered from a lack of run support and compiled a record of 1–3 in Cleveland.Second stint with Giants
In May 1902, the Giants sent catcher Frank Bowerman to persuade Taylor to return to the Giants. Bowerman sat in the stands while Taylor was pitching and negotiated the terms of Taylor's return to the Giants by signing. Taylor recalled:Taylor appeared in 26 games for the 1902 Giants and had 22 complete games. Taylor's 7–15 record for the 1902 Giants was again the result of playing for a remarkably weak-hitting team, as the 1902 Giants finished in last place in runs, hits and batting average. Even Christy Mathewson, who was Taylor's teammate on the 1902 Giants, registered a losing record in 1902 with an earned run average of 2.12 that was only marginally better than Taylor's.
In 1903, John McGraw took over as the manager of the Giants. McGraw quickly turned the Giants into one of the best teams in the National League, with Taylor, Mathewson, and Iron Man Joe McGinnity as his pitching stars. Taylor had his most successful season in 1904. With strong support from a Giants team that finished first in the National League in runs and hits, Taylor compiled a 21–15 record in 1904. He was among the National League leaders that year with 21 wins, five shutouts, 1.033 walks plus hits per inning pitched, 136 strikeouts, and a.991 fielding percentage.
In 1905, Taylor helped lead the Giants to their second consecutive National League pennant. Taylor appeared in 32 games and compiled a record of 16–9 with a 2.66 earned run average. Taylor was scheduled to pitch in the third game of the 1905 World Series, but the game was cancelled because of rain, and Christy Mathewson pitched with an extra day of rest when the Series resumed.
Although the Giants fell short of a third consecutive pennant in 1906, Taylor had another strong year, compiling a 17–9 record and a 2.20 earned run average. His earned run average that year was the lowest on a pitching staff that included Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson and Joe McGinnity. Taylor also ranked 6th in the National League with a.654 winning percentage in 1906.
In 1907, Taylor went 11–7 with a 2.42 earned run average and a 1.117 walks plus hits per inning pitched. He pitched his final major league season in 1908, compiling an 8–5 record with a 2.33 earned run average.
Minor leagues
In February 1909, Taylor was sold to the Buffalo Bisons in the Eastern League. He won 32 games for Buffalo in 1909 and 1910 and played in the minor leagues from 1909 to 1915. In his final season of organized baseball, he compiled an 18–11 record for the Utica Utes in the New York State League.Overall record
In nine seasons in the major leagues, Taylor compiled an overall win–loss record of 116–106 and 767 strikeouts. He threw 237 complete games and 21 shutouts. He had a career earned run average of 2.75 and a career walks plus hits per inning pitched of 1.267.Deafness
Taylor was born profoundly deaf and communicated on-field with his teammates in sign language. He is credited with helping to expand and make universal the use of sign language throughout the modern baseball infield, including but not limited to the use of pitching signs. According to Sean Lahman in his biography of Taylor, "The Giants didn't just add Taylor to their roster; they embraced him as a member of the family. Player-manager George Davis learned sign language and encouraged his players to do the same. John McGraw did likewise when he took over as Giants manager in July 1902." In Lawrence Ritter's 1966 book The Glory of Their Times, Taylor's teammate, Fred Snodgrass, recalled:During his eight seasons in Major League Baseball, Taylor's success won acclaim in the deaf press, including The Silent Worker, and he became a role model and hero for the deaf community. An article in The Saturday Evening Post noted that "wherever Taylor goes he will always be visited by scores of the silent fraternity among whom he is regarded as a prodigy."
On May 16, 1902, Taylor pitched against Dummy Hoy in Cincinnati, Ohio. The occasion was reported to be "the first and only time two deaf professional athletes competed against one another." When Hoy came to bat for the first time, he signed to Taylor, "I'm glad to see you." Hoy collected two hits off Taylor, but Taylor got the win as the Giants beat the Reds 5–3.
The nickname "Dummy" was commonly applied to "deaf and dumb" baseball players in the late 19th and early 20th century. Dummy Dundon and Dummy Hoy were the first professional baseball players to receive the appellation. Others include Dummy Deegan, Dummy Leitner, Herbert Murphy and Dummy Stephenson. Taylor, Deegan, and Leitner all pitched for the 1901 New York Giants. Although he accepted the nickname in his playing days, Taylor noted in a 1945 interview that he and Dummy Hoy did not care for the nickname: "In the old days Hoy and I were called Dummy. It didn't hurt us. It made us fight harder." Taylor's popularity led to an outcry in the deaf press against the use of the nickname. Alexander Pach wrote an editorial in The Silent Worker in which he protested: "The highest salaried deaf man in the United States is the much heralded Dummy Taylor—I say Dummy only to serve to show how contemptible the epithet looks."
Taylor was inducted into the American Athletic Association of the Deaf Hall of Fame in 1953. He was also inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.