I thank my sister’s championship basketball game for this post. While I was watching the game, I noticed how many different hand signals were used by the coach to tell his players what to do. Being an avid sports player and fan myself, I know what most of these symbols mean and why they are used; however, I never knew where they originated from. Yes, these are the things I thought about while watching the game that was playing before my sister’s game- where the hand signals in sports came from.
Anyway… When I got home after the game (they won by the way, Go Squires!), I did some research on these signals. It turns out that the first time these signals were noticed and used was back in the 19th century during a game of baseball. According to many sources, William Hoy was the first player to actually use signals. Why? Because he was deaf. Yes, deaf. Along with Roy, Ed Dundon, the first deaf baseball player in history, also received signals from umpires to tell the number of outs, strikes, whether or not someone was safe, etc. During the time of these players, hand signals were mostly used just as a way to help them follow the game. Eventually, an umpire named Charles Rigler came along and used signals to tell the count and number of outs to help the outfielders who could not hear him from behind the plate. Also around the same time as Rigler, Bill Klem was accredited for his signals for things such as strikes and foul balls. Eventually, both the umpires’ and the players’ use for signals in the game was carried over into the major leagues of the time all of the way up to today’s games. Of course now, we have universal signs used by umpires during the game as well as the different signs teams use in order to communicate different plays.
Credit to ESPN for the Video
That is truly something to think about! We are all so used to these hand signals that they have become second nature to us. I find it very interesting that they were originally created for blind people and now are found in every sports game known to man. Being an athlete myself, I feel that these signals are very helpful in every aspect of the game and there needs to be much credit given to their inventor!
ReplyDeleteThis was so interesting! Who'd have thought, that deaf player following their dreams would make way for such an integral part of sports! Hand signals are so important in many things-- spy movies, sports, etc. haha-- It's hard to imagine a life without them! Great post, I appreciate that you actually researched. Congrats to the Squires for the win!:)
ReplyDeleteThis post was very interesting because being into sports as well I see these signs and signals all the time but I never knew where it originated! Thinking about it, it does make sense that it was created for blind people but they are still used today to try and hide their meanings from the opposing team. The creative signals in baseball for stealing, bunting, or holding were always interesting to me along with the universal signals like the strike signal and safe signal.
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