Presented here is a collection of two handwritten letters penned and signed, respectfully, by the two most successful deaf players in professional baseball history, Dummy Hoy and Dummy Taylor. Both letters are dated March 24, 1945 and are addressed to a Mr. Richard Rose. The letters both include fascinating baseball content.
Hoy and Taylor were allegedly asked by Rose to pick the top players at each position that they had played against and both were obliged. Hoy included the likes of Keefe and Clarkson as two of his fiercest competitors on the mound and listed off Jimmy Collins and Honus Wagner among several others on his short list. Taylor, whose career was later than Hoy (they played against each other one time in 1902), listed off Christy Mathewson, Kid Nichols, and Walter Johnson along with several others as his toughest competition. Read their full lists on the actual letters shown on this listing...it's an intriguing group and even more so when reading from the actual documents in both their pens.
Hoy's letter is on a 7.25"x10.5" unlined paper and is penned in black ink. His sheet includes a list of his all-time team, is unsigned and presents in EX-MT with normal mailing folds. Hoy also included a 5.5"x3.25" unlined card (NM-MT) where he signed his name, "William E. Hoy" in black along the top border. Below his signature, Hoy lists the years and teams he played for during his career. Hoy was 83 years old when he penned these documents.
Taylor's three page letter is penned in blue ink on "Illinois School for the Deaf" letterhead. He answers Rose's question about why he was called "Dummy:" "I have been deaf all my life. I was the only one on the team who could not hear or talk." The letter is on 6" x 9.5" paper and is in EX-MT condition.
This lot is accompanied by two full LOA's from PSA/DNA (Cert. #'s: (AH04381,AH04383). Note: All writing on the index card is in Hoy's hand but the unsigned letter that acccompanies the item is secratarial.