A guy from here in Columbus, Ohio has written a movie about Dummy Hoy, the man who played for 14 years in the majors in the late 19th and early 20th century, stealing over 500 bases despite being deaf. The name: “The Silent Natural":
Steve Sandy of Columbus has a screenplay ready for a movie about Dummy Hoy, the deaf-mute Reds Hall of Fame outfielder who was responsible for umpires using hand signals ... “It will not be an entirely silent film like ‘The Artist’… Only the deaf roles would be captioned like ‘The Artist,’ ” he said ... “It needs a gentle nudge in the right direction. The script is completed and ready to go,” he said.
Note: that bit about the hand signals for “safe” and “out” is disputed. Many think that an umpire named Bill Klem did it. Sandy argues otherwise. Probably of no moment.
Anyway, they film needs investors. But I suppose if they walk into studios and try to pitch it as “The Artist, but on a baseball diamond!” they’ll get their money. That’s how Hollywood works, right?
