Luther Haden ‘Dummy’ Taylor (September 21, 1875 – August 22, 1958) was a deaf American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908. overcame the disability of being a deaf-mute to become part of one of the greatest pitching rotations of its time in Major League Baseball and one of the most popular players in the early 20th century. After graduating from the Kansas School for the Deaf in 1895, Taylor played semi-pro baseball in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois before breaking into organized baseball with Albany in the New York State League. The New York Giants purchased his contract on July 16, 1900, and Taylor spent nine seasons with the Giants, pitching for legendary manager John McGraw and joining the rotation of Christy Mathewson and Frank McGinnity. The Giants won the World Series in 1905, but Taylor did not pitch because his scheduled start was rained out and Mathewson became the World Series hero. Taylor pitched for the Giants until the end of the 1908 season and finished with a record of 117-103, including a 72-45 mark in his last five seasons. Taylor pitched in 274 games during his career, had 21 shutouts and finished with an earned run average of 2.75. After leaving the Giants in 1908, Taylor pitched four seasons in the International League before retiring as a player in 1914.
During an interview that appeared in The Sporting News on December 24, 1942, Taylor explained simply why he did not start that game on the next day: “Two answers to that one. Matty and Joe McGinnity.”
Why did a start mean so much to Taylor? It was very simple: If he had gotten the ball the next day, he would have been the first deaf player to play in a World Series. [Read the story]
Taylor died on August 22, 1958, at the age of 82, just 11 days after suffering a presumably mild heart attack. He was clear-minded and in excellent spirits to the end. He is buried in Baldwin City, Kansas, with his first wife Della.
Taylor accomplished a great deal in his life, building a bridge between those who could hear and those that didn’t. In 1936 he was awarded a lifetime pass to the major leagues. In 1952 he became the second player inducted into the American Athletic Association for the Deaf. After he died, the Kansas School for the Deaf named its gymnasium for him in 1961. In 2006 Luther Taylor was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.
A monument was erected on Taylor’s gravesite on May 24, 2008.
Deaf Thai couple are spilling drinks while signing in Thai Sign Language (TSL). Deaf Film Makers in Thailand made this funny advertisement for Nescafe the world’s leading instant coffee. Enjoy!
September is National Deaf Awareness Month. Many Deaf organizations across America held the fun activities, events celebrated and brought awareness of the Deaf to the public. It was also known as the International Week of the Deaf. The purpose of Deaf Awareness Week is to help bring attention to Deaf people, and all of their accomplishments and their issues at hand. How many Deaf people do we have in Colorado? About 40,000 Deaf residents! There are approximately 39 million Deaf residents in the United States. An estimated 300 million Deaf people are everywhere in the world. On Sunday, September 13th. Sprint Relay and Relay Colorado made this Safari Deaf Awareness Day successfully at Denver Zoo in Colorado. The organizers and sponsors such as Aspen Camp for the Deaf, Lance’s Deaf Orphans, DOVE, Colorado Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CCDHH), and many more non-profit organizations and businesses helped celebrating this community and conduct public information campaigned to educate people about deafness. More than 1,200 Deaf, ASL students, family and friends of the Deaf community came to the zoo. Everyone had fun. See the video below.
(Note to Denver Zoo Visitors: Please accept my apology if you don’t see yourself in the video. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties to the point where I actually lost a few camera’s footages because my computer crashed which I cannot post those lost videos. -Bug)
Kristine Cantrell Hall, Valencia, California, was chosen as a contestant on the popular T.V. game show, “The Price Is Right.” Kristine is probably the first deaf contestant ever to make it all the way to share the stage with Drew Carey and the lovely models. Her appearance will be broadcast on Monday, October 19th on CBS. Check local listings for the time and tune in to find out if she goes home with the grand prize! [Thanks to Tayler]
