A film following the life of one of the first deaf Major League Baseball players premieres in Hopkinsville next week.
The Silent Natural centers on William ‘Dummy’ Hoy and will show at the Alhambra Theatre on May 31. Director David Risotto said Hoy played in the 1800s and introduced the umpire hand signs for ‘strike’ and ‘ball.’ He said the film is part of an effort to induct Hoy into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
“I would ask baseball players, I said ‘do you know where the umpire hand signs came from?’ And it went even further than that to the signs that the managers use also. Hardly anybody knew where the hand signs came from,” Risotto said.
Hoy grew up in in Houcktown, Ohio and owned a shoe repair shop before he was noticed by a pro scout. He played in the minor leagues for two years before signing with the Washington Senators in 1888.
Risotto said he filled Hoy’s family’s request to have deaf actors play the deaf characters. He said he produced the film independently and turned down studios who wanted to cast hearing actors in those roles.
“It’s not the same as a deaf person playing a deaf person because their facial expressions, their body language, the way they sign… A hearing actor it would take years for them to learn that,” Risotto said. “When you watch Miles in this movie you can tell through his eyes exactly what he’s thinking.”
The Silent Natural was mostly filmed in Christian County and in Dawson Springs, contributing to almost $660,000 in economic impact. Risotto said one of the reasons they decided to film in Kentucky is the tax incentives. He also referenced an old baseball field with a wooden grandstand where Honus Wagner played with the Pirates.
Risotto said at the request of the deaf community the film will be captioned.
