BIO SKETCHES OF DEAF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYERS
Barksdale, Tommy – two seasons, independent minors (2014-15)
Barnes – first name (?), was said to play for Wichita in Western League, 1910’s
Battiste, Hume – a Gallaudetian; pitched a season in minors (1914 Portland, OR, class B team, 1-3 record
Browning, Pete – was said to be deaf but no information
Burson, Frank – played for Larned in 1910
Cote, Henry – said to play for Erie in the New York-Pennsylvania League in 1891 and
also two seasons in majors (1894-1895 with Louisville)
Cranford, Lawrence – played few games for New Orleans in Southern League, 1924
Cummings, George – pitched for Waterloo in 1895
Curtis, Paul – pitched in the minors, 1901-1907
Damilowski, Leonard – many teams in lower minors, 1949-1953
Deegan, W. John – pitched one year with NY Giants, 1901
Dix, Harry – pitched one season, 1907 in minors
Downes, Leonard – pitched one season, 1928 for Frederick Hustlers, Blue Ridge League
Dundon, Edward – pitcher, majors 6-20 career record; minors 66-47; career record in
1880’s.
Fields, Jocko – played in majors 1887-1892; deafness not verified
Flanagan, Skip – played 2015 in the independent North County Baseball League, hitting .263
Fuller, Dalton – played in minors one season, 1901
Funkhouser, William – infielder, minors, 1890 & 1897
Gately, Patrick – Brooklyn Association, 1890’s
Gately, Thomas – played for Lowell, 1914
Gillies, Tyson – played in minors for 11 season in the 2000’s-10’s but never reached majors
Gorgen, Scott – pitched six seasons in minors during 2000-2010’s but never reached majors
Hale, Henry – pitcher, minors, pitched briefly for Atlanta in 1907
Hamilton, Nick – three seasons in minors, 2010’s
Harris, Jalen – three seasons with Brewers’ Rookie League teams
Hayes, Todd – pitcher, class A teams, late eighties.
Hetzler, Hafford – Keoukuk, 1911-12; may have pulled off 2 triple plays in one game?
Hinch, Paul – outfielder, minors, mid-1950’s
Hines, Paul – lengthy major league career, 1871-1890 (said to become deaf after a
beaning at the tail end of his career; controversery rages on whether he made an
unassisted triple play in 1878 while he was still hearing)
Hoy, Dummy – 1886-1903, majors & minors, .288 career batting average; devised ball
& strike count
Grendell, Kevin, pitcher, Los Angeles Angeles minor league system
Ingram, Dummy – played in 1897 Kansas State League, not verified (Charlie
Ingraham?)
Kautz, Eddie – played for Dayton briefly in 1946
Ketchner, Ryan – pitched in minors 12 seasons, never made it to majors; 2000-12
Kihm, George – played in minors, 1895-1913
Kotula, Louis – played for Tacoma in 1917 (may be confused with John Kotula – played
for several teams in 1955)
Kourtis, Dmitri – pitcher, independent minor leagues, mid-2010’s
Leitner, George – NY Giants, 1901; 1901-1903 career in majors & minors
Lux, Frank – Little Rock, Southern Atlantic League, early 1930’s
Lynch, Matt (Dummy) – Chicago Cubs, 1948, 7 games, .286, 1 hr; deafness unverified
Lynch, Thomas – pitcher, pitched one game for Chicago (NL), 1884, 7 shutout innings
(hurt arm), never played in majors again. Confusion and disagreement on whether that
Lynch was deaf.
McDougald, Gil – infielder, NY Yankees, fifties, gradually lost his hearing after a
beaning.
Murphy, Herb; deafness not verified, possibly hearsay; one season with Philadelphia Phillies (1914);
long minor league career
Nimmo, Frank – third baseman, Norfolk, Virginia League, 1910’s
Payne, Wood – played for Paducah, 1910 and Bristol, 1911
Pride, Curtis – played in the majors 11 seasons with a .250 career batting average
Rosson, Lester – pitcher, several teams, early 1900’s; pitched against majors in
exhibition games
Rosson, Walter – played few summers for Nashville around 1890-1900’s
Ryan, John – long career, 1889-1912 in minors & majors (deafness not documented)
Ryn, John – 1879-1891, minors
Sawhill, Isaac – minors, 1879-1882
Sawhill, William – minors, 1885-1888
Shea, John – Ogden & Erie teams in early 1910’s
Sly, Bud – Owensboro, 1938-1940
Sickles, Dummy – played in 1897 Kansas State League
Sipek, Dick – one season in majors, played from 1943-1951 in minors
Solecitto, Austin – 12 games pitched 2016; independent league team Sussex County, NJ
Stephenson, Reuben – 1891-1898 minors, cup of coffee with Phillies
Sueme, Hal – played in Pacific Coast League, late 30’s & early 40’s as backup catcher.
Taylor, Dummy – pitched in the majors & minors, 1895-1915, 115-106 career record in
majors
Voiselle, Bill – was hearing impaired during his major league career in forties but post-career operation restored his hearing
Weschberg, Von – pitched two seasons in the Cleveland and San Diego farm systems
in the early 90’s
Wickline, Dennis – was said to play for Asheville, NC farm team in the Phillies system
Woodward, Scott – played a season for Ogden team in the rookie-level Pioneer League, 2011