© 2026 Dummy Hoy Hall of Fame Campaign
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The People Behind
the Campaign.

Led by advocates from the worlds of baseball, film, and the Deaf community — united by a single belief: the Hall of Fame is incomplete without William Ellsworth Hoy.

The Board
David Keinath
Campaign Leadership
David Keinath
Campaign Director & Co-Founder
The driving force behind the campaign. Co-founder of Silent Visual Media — a two-thirds Deaf-owned organization dedicated to elevating Deaf representation in the entertainment industry. Executive producer on films including The Hammer and Silent Natural (2020). A graduate of NTID, David brings decades of experience bridging the hearing and Deaf communities.
“Hoy’s story belongs in Cooperstown. It belongs to every Deaf child who has ever loved this game.”
Albert Pujols
Baseball Ambassador
Albert Pujols
Board Member & Baseball Hall of Famer
Three-time NL MVP, two-time World Series champion, and 11-time All-Star. Pujols retired in 2022 with 700 career home runs and 3,384 career hits, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025. His support signals to the Historical Overview Committee that the baseball community believes Hoy’s time has come.
“The Hall of Fame should reflect the full story of this game — and Dummy Hoy is part of that story.”
Troy Kotsur
Cultural Ambassador
Troy Kotsur
Board Member & Academy Award Winner
Academy Award-winning actor and one of the most celebrated Deaf performers in Hollywood history. Won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2022 for CODA — the first Deaf man to win a competitive acting Oscar. His involvement brings the Deaf community’s stake in this campaign to a global stage.
“What Dummy Hoy did in 1888 — showing up, competing, and changing the game — that’s the same fight we’re still fighting today.”
Nyle DiMarco
Deaf Advocacy Ambassador
Nyle DiMarco
Board Member & Deaf Advocate
Filmmaker, international model, and one of the most influential Deaf advocates in the world. Nyle DiMarco became the first Deaf winner of both America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars, later helped produce the Oscar-nominated documentary Audible, and co-directed the acclaimed documentary Deaf President Now!. His involvement brings one of the Deaf community’s most recognizable voices to the effort to honor Dummy Hoy’s legacy.
“The Hall of Fame is meant to preserve the people who shaped baseball. Dummy Hoy helped shape the game we know today.”
Advisors
Marty Brennaman
Campaign Advisor
Marty Brennaman
Hall of Fame Broadcaster
Marty Brennaman spent more than four decades as one of baseball’s most respected voices, calling the game with a level of clarity, honesty, and reverence that earned him a place in the Hall of Fame. His support of Dummy Hoy’s candidacy reflects a deep respect for the game’s forgotten pioneers and the stories that deserve to be preserved alongside its legends.
“You cannot tell the story of baseball without telling the story of Dummy Hoy.”
Brenda Linkous
Campaign Advisor
Brenda Linkous
Co-President DFA
Brenda Linkous Wilson has dedicated more than 25 years to advocacy, accessibility, and communication within the Deaf community. A licensed interpreter and Co-CEO of DEAFinitely For All Entertainment, her work spans education, corporate leadership, media, and entertainment. She is passionate about preserving Deaf history and expanding visibility and opportunity for future generations.
“Most people do not know the tremendous impact Dummy Hoy had as an elite player and on Major League Baseball as it exists today. They will now!”
Shawn Ullman
Campaign Advisor
Shawn Ullman
President of Sign For Hoy
Shawn Ullman is a storyteller and entrepreneur who has spent his career helping important ideas reach larger audiences. As Co-Founder of Feel Rich alongside Quincy Jones and Founder of FLEXDEF, he has built campaigns and initiatives at the intersection of culture, community, and impact. As President of Sign For Hoy, he is helping lead the effort to ensure William “Dummy” Hoy receives the recognition his contributions to the game deserve.
“Some stories are too important to stay forgotten. Dummy Hoy’s is one of them.”
Greg Rhodes
Campaign Advisor
Greg Rhodes
Official Historian of Cincinnati Reds
Greg Rhodes is the official historian of the Cincinnati Reds and former Executive Director of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. A respected baseball researcher and author, Rhodes has written or co-authored ten books focused on Reds history and legacy. He is also a two-time recipient of the prestigious Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Baseball Research Award with co-authors Mark Stang for Reds in Black and White in 1999, and John Snyder for Redleg Journal in 2001.
“Dummy Hoy should be an inspiration to everyone who plays the game.”
Steve Sandy
Campaign Advisor
Steve Sandy
Chief Historian for Dummy Hoy film
Steve Sandy has spent a lifetime doing what Cooperstown hasn’t — preserving the definitive physical record of Dummy Hoy’s life and career. His private collection stands as the most comprehensive archive of Hoy memorabilia in existence, and has become the evidentiary backbone of this campaign. Without Steve’s decades of dedication, much of what we know — and can prove — about Dummy Hoy would simply be gone. He isn’t just a collector. He’s the reason this story can be told.
The Vote Is Coming
December 2027.
Make your voice heard.
Join the Campaign →