# Deaf/hearing-impaired people in sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 9, 2018, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217 "2018-01-09T07:42:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/1 "2018-01-09T07:42:28Z")
According to baseball books I have found in libraries, there was an outfielder named William Hoy for the Cincinnati Reds, and a pitcher named Luther Taylor for the New York Giants, both around the beginning of the 20th Century and both quite deaf. Both were called “Dummy,” as was apparently common at the time but would be unthinkable these days. But there must have been deaf or hard-of-hearing players in other sports, and in later eras. I have never read of any, however. Any information? ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/2 "2018-01-09T08:20:02Z")
Jim Kyte played a long career in professional hockey, including many years in the NHL. Wikipedia states he was the first, and so far only, legally deaf player in the NHL. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/3 "2018-01-09T09:37:32Z")
[Gertrude Ederle,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Ederle) the first person to swim across the English Channel, suffered hearing loss at an early age. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/4 "2018-01-09T11:17:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [Gertrude Ederle,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Ederle) the first person to swim across the English Channel, suffered hearing loss at an early age. First \*woman \*to swim the Channel. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/5 "2018-01-09T11:40:07Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > According to baseball books I have found in libraries, there was an outfielder named William Hoy for the Cincinnati Reds, and a pitcher named Luther Taylor for the New York Giants, both around the beginning of the 20th Century and both quite deaf. Both were called “Dummy,” as was apparently common at the time but would be unthinkable these days. But there must have been deaf or hard-of-hearing players in other sports, and in later eras. I have never read of any, however. Lou Ferrigno probably deserves mention. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/6 "2018-01-09T12:37:51Z")
Curtis Pride was deaf from birth due to rubella, and played Major League Baseball for several seasons. > **[Curtis Pride](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Pride?wprov=sfla1)** > > As manager > Curtis John Pride (born December 17, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who is deaf. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. In 2015, Pride was named MLB's Ambassador For Inclusion. Since 2009 Pride has served as the head baseball coach at Gallaudet University. > Deaf at birth from rubella, Pride developed oral skills early in his life and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. He excelled in baseball, basketball, and soccer in hi... ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/7 "2018-01-09T13:08:57Z")
[Derrick Coleman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Coleman_(American_football)) is an active NFL player, and has been legally deaf since the age of 3. He’s a fullback, and QB Matt Ryan [turns to look at him](https://www.sbnation.com/2018/1/6/16859094/derrick-coleman-falcons-fb-audibles-matt-ryan) if he audibles a play so Coleman can read his lips. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/8 "2018-01-09T13:23:28Z")
[Kenny Walker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Walker_(American_football)) was a star defensive lineman in college who stuck for a year with the Denver Broncos but didn’t really pan out in the pros. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/9 "2018-01-09T13:25:34Z")
All players on all teams at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC have been deaf. The football huddle was invented there to keep opponents from reading their sign-language calls. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/10 "2018-01-09T14:06:19Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > [Derrick Coleman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Coleman_(American_football)) is an active NFL player, and has been legally deaf since the age of 3. He’s a fullback, and QB Matt Ryan [turns to look at him](https://www.sbnation.com/2018/1/6/16859094/derrick-coleman-falcons-fb-audibles-matt-ryan) if he audibles a play so Coleman can read his lips. Yeah he was a Seahawk until he got into a bad car crash that he ran away from. They cut ties with him at that point. He later pled guilty to vehicular assault and hit-and-run while under the influence of drugs. > **[Ex-Seahawk Derrick Coleman pleads guilty to vehicular assault, hit-and-run in...](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/ex-seahawk-derrick-coleman-pleads-guilty-to-vehicular-assault-hit-and-run-in-bellevue-crash/)** > > After the crash, Coleman told Bellevue police he had smoked “spice,” a synthetic designer drug with effects similar to marijuana, about an hour earlier, according to the charges. It’s a shame, he seemed like a great guy. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PX42pIvT5Zk/hqdefault.jpg "Duracell Derrick Coleman Commercial Extended Cut") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX42pIvT5Zk) I’m glad other teams gave him a chance. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/11 "2018-01-09T14:35:51Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > All players on all teams at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC have been deaf. The football huddle was invented there to keep opponents from reading their sign-language calls. As well as the [Arkansas School For The Deaf](http://www.arschoolforthedeaf.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=831078&type=d&pREC_ID=1104027) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/12 "2018-01-09T15:13:07Z")
Bonnie Sloan was the first deaf player to play in the NFL. He played for the (then St Louis) Cardinals back in the early 70s. > **[Bonnie Sloan](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_Sloan)** > > Bonnie Ryan Sloan (born June 1, 1948) is an American former NFL player who was the first of three deaf football players in National Football League history. > Sloan played four games at defensive tackle for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1973 season. > A native of Lebanon, Tennessee, Sloan starred at Austin Peay State University. He was a 10th round selection (242nd overall pick) of the 1973 NFL Draft by the Cardinals, who released him after that one season due to a knee injury. > Former Denver Bro... ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/13 "2018-01-09T15:42:31Z")
Thanks to all. 🙂 I even saw in the Life Science Library (A set of books I bought all at once) a picture of the quarterback on the Gallaudet football team giving signals in ASL. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/14 "2018-01-09T16:53:40Z")
There’s even been a blind football player (long snapper) in Div-1 football. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BRttFSTDtJQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Highlight: USC's blind long snapper Jake Olson finds game action on extra point against WMU") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRttFSTDtJQ) ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/15 "2018-01-09T20:24:21Z")
There was a tennis player, I think South Korean, who was deaf, and who was doing pretty well a couple of years ago. (Brief spotlights on the Tennis Channel.) I don’t know if he’s still playing but I haven’t heard much about him lately. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/16 "2018-01-09T20:46:06Z")
[Lee Duk-hee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Duck-hee) perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/17 "2018-01-09T21:07:36Z")
Others listed in [this recent article](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sponsor-story/miracle-ear/2016/05/17/miracle-ear-7-professional-athletes-hearing-loss/84506958/) on the topic: - Ashley Fiotek (motocross) - Jeff Float (swimming) - Tamika Catchings (basketball; the article indicates that she was born with “severe hearing deficiency,” but it appears that she may not be entirely deaf) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/18 "2018-01-09T21:19:58Z")
Larry Brown, RB for the Redskins and 1972 NFL MVP is mostly deaf in one ear and had a hearing aid fitted inside his helmet. Reed Doughty, S for the Redskins in the 2000’s is mostly deaf. Flozell Adams, OT for the Cowboys and Steelers, is partially deaf in his right ear. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/19 "2018-01-09T22:21:04Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [Lee Duk-hee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Duck-hee) perhaps? That’s the one. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217/20 "2018-01-09T23:03:46Z")
[Lance Allred - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Allred) Former basketball player [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-hearing-impaired-people-in-sports/806217.md?page=2)