Karen Mills, host of Living Large, to honor deaf baseball pitcher, Luther “Dummy” Taylor at the Kansas City Royals on June 30, 2007

Kansas City, MO – Karen Mills, host of Living Large design and lifestyle show on News Radio 980 KMBZ will honor major league baseball pitcher Luther “Dummy” Taylor at the pre game ceremonies for the Kansas City Royals game on June 30, 2007. According to Karen Mills, “This is a special event for the deaf community because Luther “Dummy” Taylor Day at the Kansas City Royals will be the first event in history where a deaf ball player has been recognized by a major league baseball team.”

Luther “Dummy” Taylor, a native of the Kansas City metro area pitched for the New Giants from 1900-1908 and doubled as a 3rd base coach. Luther’s coach, John McGraw, made the entire team learn sign language so they could communicate with Luther which contributed to the earliest form of signs in baseball. Later in life Luther Dummy Taylor returned to the KC metro area to teach for the Kansas State School for the deaf.

As part of the Luther “Dummy” Taylor celebration, commemorative baseball cards will be given out to the first attendees at the game Saturday, followed by a VIP dinner in the stadium club that will also be hosted by Mills.