Luther Haden "Dummy" Taylor (February 21, 1875 – August 22, 1958) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908 who was deaf.

In 1904, he won 21 games for the Giants, and in 1906 his 2.20 earned run average was the lowest on a pitching staff that included Baseball Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson (2.97), and "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity (2.25).

Taylor was the only successful deaf pitcher in Major League Baseball and was regarded, along with Dummy Hoy, as a role model and hero for hearing impaired Americans in the early 20th century.

In 2000, author Darryl Brock wrote the historical novel Havana Heat about Taylor's experience in professional baseball.

[8] After leaving the Kansas School for the Deaf, Taylor began playing semi-pro baseball with a team in Nevada, Missouri.

He then played at Lincoln, Illinois, and with minor league teams in Wabash, Crawfordsville, Danville and Terre Haute, Indiana.

At the time of the U.S. Census in June 1900, Taylor was residing at a boarding house in Albany; his occupation was listed as a printer.

Taylor recalled: Frank sat in the grandstand and every time I walked out to the pitching mound he kept talking to me with his fingers.

McGraw quickly turned the Giants into one of the best teams in the National League, with Taylor, Mathewson, and Iron Man Joe McGinnity as his pitching stars.

With strong support from a Giants team that finished first in the National League in runs and hits, Taylor compiled a 21–15 record in 1904.

He was among the National League leaders that year with 21 wins (4th), five shutouts (3rd), 1.033 walks plus hits per inning pitched (5th), 136 strikeouts (6th), and a .991 fielding percentage (2nd).

Although the Giants fell short of a third consecutive pennant in 1906, Taylor had another strong year, compiling a 17–9 record and a 2.20 earned run average.

His earned run average that year was the lowest on a pitching staff that included Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson (2.97) and Joe McGinnity (2.25).

In his final season of organized baseball, he compiled an 18–11 record for the Utica Utes in the New York State League.

[22] An article in The Saturday Evening Post noted that "wherever Taylor goes he will always be visited by scores of the silent fraternity among whom he is regarded as a prodigy.

[5][24] The nickname "Dummy" was commonly applied to "deaf and dumb" (deaf-mute) baseball players in the late 19th and early 20th century.

In April 1905, The New York Times wrote about Taylor's efforts to maintain a light atmosphere in the Giants' locker room.

The Times described Taylor's post-shower wrestling matches with Frank Bowerman and his displays of the Japanese martial art, jiu-jitsu, adding:The "Dummy" is always smiling.

"It is a good thing Taylor can't tell stories", remarked McGraw one morning, "or I never should be able to get any work out of you fellows.

"[26]On one occasion, Taylor disagreed with the decision by umpire Bill Klem not to call the game as darkness fell.

Taylor returned to the clubhouse and came back onto the field wearing a fireman's oilskin and holding a lit lantern above his head.

Wagner wrote, "So Dummy Taylor, one of the Giant pitchers, went out to the third base coaching lines in his hip boots and a raincoat.

Aside from sign language, Taylor would let it be known that he disagreed with an umpire's call by holding his nose and spinning the second finger of his other hand near his temple, demonstrating his belief that the ump was screwy.

[7] In June 1905, umpire Hank O'Day ejected Taylor for hand gestures that he interpreted to be an accusation that "I had wheels in my head.

"[33] A press account described the scene:He strode angrily toward O'Day, and the grandstand observed a lightning movement of the hands.

"[33]John McGraw recalled an occasion when he, too, was cursed out by Taylor: "In sign language, Dummy consigned me to the hottest place he could think of—and he didn't mean St.

"[23] Taylor was also an accomplished juggler and would often put on "a grand juggling act" in front of the Giants' dugout to amuse the fans.

[34] After his retirement from baseball, Taylor returned to Olathe and the Kansas State School For the Deaf, where he worked as a teacher and coach.

[36] At the time of the 1920 United States census, Taylor was living at the Kansas School for the Deaf where he was employed as the physical instructor.

When he was interviewed in 1942 for a feature story in The Sporting News, Taylor was employed as a coach and "house father" at the Illinois School for the Deaf.