Edward Joseph "Dummy" Dundon (July 10, 1859 – August 18, 1893) was an American professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played for the Columbus Buckeyes for two seasons and was the first deaf player in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

history.

Early life

Dundon was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, in 1859. He was deaf, and from the age of nine, he attended the Ohio Institute for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb in Columbus. Dundon studied book binding and continued to work there as a book binder after graduating. He was also a pitcher for the school's baseball team.McKenna, Brian
"Ed Dundon"
sabr.org. Retrieved January 30, 2014.

Professional career

Dundon joined the American Association's Columbus Buckeyes in 1883 and became the first deaf man in major league history. He had a win–loss record of 3–16, a 4.48

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, and 31

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. The following season, he went 6–4 with a 3.78 ERA and 37 strikeouts."Ed Dundon Statistics and History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2014. Dundon then played for various minor league teams. In 1885, playing for Atlanta of the Southern League, he went 21–11 with a 1.30 ERA and 210 strikeouts. In 1887, he won 20 games again with Syracuse of the International League. Dundon was fined and suspended several times during this period for drinking. He retired from baseball in 1890.

Personal life

In 1888, Dundon married Mary Lizzie Woolley, a classmate of his from the Ohio Institute. They had a son, Edwin Pius, in 1889. Dundon died from consumption in 1893. He was buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Columbus.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dundon, Ed 1859 births 1893 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball pitchers Columbus Buckeyes players Atlanta Atlantas players Acid Iron Earths players Nashville Americans players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Columbus Senators players Evansville Hoosiers players Peoria Canaries players Baseball players from Columbus, Ohio American disabled sportspeople Deaf baseball players American deaf people 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Ohio