Many kids grow up dreaming of playing in the MLB. Very few have the honor of pursuing that dream. It takes hard work, dedication and pure talent. It also takes an extremely humble, kind and respected character to live up to MLB's expectations. These expectations couldn't explain William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy better. Hoy is a baseball role model that many look up to, due to the character traits he exhibits. It is said that there are no mediocre bones in his body. His determination, compassion and selflessness touched the hearts of many. I chose to write my research paper on William Hoy because baseball is very near and dear to my heart, I grew up in Cooperstown, New York. Even though I am an avid New York Yankees fan and Hoy played for the Cincinnati Reds, I am still very intrigued by Hoy's story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWilliam Hoy was born in Houcktown, Ohio, on May 23, 1862. Hoy was born hearing and did not acquire hearing loss until he was three years old. He lost his hearing due to a severe case of meningitis. Meningitis is a viral or bacterial disease that leads to swelling of the meninges of the brain causing severe headaches, fever, seizures, delirium, and death. However, Hoy was lucky to survive and only lost his hearing. Hoy grew up on a farm with his parents, Jacob and Rebecca Hoffman, three brothers and a sister. His education includes graduating from the Ohio School of the Deaf in 1879 and being top of his high school class. After graduation he opened his own shoe repair shop but got caught up in playing baseball. As crazy as it sounds, all it took for him to start his baseball career was to get noticed by a man walking by. The man approached him and asked if he wanted to play baseball for the Kenton, Ohio team. The man was a little disappointed that he was deaf and had a very shrill voice. However, he still decided to give it a chance. After impressing everyone with his baseball skills, William was promoted to the major leagues, playing for the Washington Nationals. He played for several other major league teams after the Nationals, however, most of his success came during his time with the Cincinnati Reds. William Hoy called himself a “dummy.” The society William was born into referred to dumb people as “stupid.” Therefore the nickname Dummy was born. However, as his fame grew in the media, his fans and team members refused to call him stupid. They called him "Bill", "Billie", "Will" or "Willie". Hoy corrected them when they called him one of those names and said "call me stupid." He fought for people to take him seriously on the field. He had difficulty communicating with his teammates, as well as the referees. Growing up he had doubts because no one believed he could become a famous baseball player because he is deaf. An article titled "William Hoy, Cooperstown, and the Meaning of (Dis)ability" states that Hoy himself said, "As for the yelling from my own coaches, they meant nothing to me. They meant well, but I couldn't put it down eyes from the ball in play to watch them. So I always had to mentally think ahead about all the possible plays on the bases and in the field. Eventually, when he earned the respect of his teammates and developed a relationship with them, they also learned sign language. It is stated that William Hoy would have been successful regardless of whether he was able to hear or.