Deaf Richard “Dick” Sipek played for Cincinnati Reds

Richard “Dick” Sipek (Jan. 16, 1923 – Jul. 17, 2005) was a Major League baseball outfielder. He was the first not to have the nickname ‘Dummy.’ The 5-foot-9, 170-pound outfielder was only the third deaf player to see extensive playing time in the big leagues when he appeared in 82 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1945. The previous ones were William “Dummy” Hoy, an outfielder who hit .292 for 15 big-league seasons from 1888 to 1902, and Luther “Dummy” Taylor, who won 115 games during a nine-year career from 1900 to 1908. Sipek lost his hearing in an accident around the time he was 5 years old. He was sent to the Illinois School for the Deaf in Jacksonville, where his home-father was none other than Taylor, who was a 21-game winner for the New York Giants in 1904. The older man took him under his wing and encouraged the youngster to develop his athletic abilities. Sipek was an all-state back in football, then the Reds had him at Birmingham of the Southern Association, where he hit .336 in 74 games in 1943 and .319 in 134 games in 1944. The left-handed batter hit .244 for Cincinnati with six doubles, two triples and 13 runs batted in. He was 10 for 45 as a pinch hitter (.222). Click this link to view his official stats from Baseball Almanac website.

Minor Baseball League, Dick Sipek in middle
(Click the image to enlarge)

Newspaper articles about Dick Sipek
(Click the image to enlarge)

1945 Cincinnati Reds
(Click the image to enlarge)

Ripley’s Believe it or not
(Click the image to enlarge)

Dick talked about his baseball life.