You may know about deaf sports competitors from international events such as the Deaflympics, but a few standout athletes have performed head-to-head with hearing competitors and triumphed. Here, we’ve gathered their amazing stories.

Deaf Bodybuilder Shelley Beattie (1967-2008)
A top female professional bodybuilder, Shelley Beattie once held the record for bench pressing at 315 pounds. Beattie was able to finish in the top three at both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia contests, the two top bodybuilding events. After her bodybuilding career, she went on to become an actress and help crew an America’s Cup yacht before succumbing to a lifelong battle with bipolar disorder.

Beattie lost her hearing at the age of three due to an aspirin overdose, after which she felt excluded by her peers, who had to be facing her for her to communicate with them. They thought she had a cognitive disability, and to escape their rejection Beattie focused on sports, where she was naturally talented.

A track and field athlete, the teenager never competed in deaf sports but excelled at hurdling and sprints. She began weightlifting at age 14 because she wanted to compete against boys, since she was so much better than her female rivals. A hurt ankle led her to weight training and power lifting in college, where she earned a degree in Child Psychology and Special Education.

Beattie competed regularly from the late ‘80s through the early ‘90s, appearing twice on the cover of DeafLife magazine. At 5’7” tall, she weighed between 144-149 pounds for contests, and 155-160 pounds in the off season. Her most prestigious win was in 1992 when she finished 3rd in Ms. Olympia.

Quitting the grueling demands of bodybuilding didn’t mean Beattie was done with professional sports. In 1994-95 she was the grinder on the second-place America 3 America’s Cup yacht, doing the heavy spinning with her arms for every hoist, tack and jibe of the massive sails.

A natural beauty with an incredible physique, Beattie was perfect for the part of Siren in the American Gladiators TV show, which she starred in from 1992-96. Audiences, knowing she was deaf, waved their arms in the air or stomped their feet to communicate their approval for her performances.

Deaf Boxer James “Deaf” Burke (1809-45)
Apart from holding the English heavyweight championship, Burke is known for being the first modern boxer to kill his opponent, at a time when fights were still bare-knuckle contests that lasted until one opponent was down.

Standing 6’2” with a fighting weight of 200 pounds, Burke was a large man, particularly for his time. In a brutal fight for the heavyweight championship in 1833, Burke knocked Irish champion Simon Byrne unconscious in the 99th round after three hours in the ring. Three days later, Byrne was dead and Burke was arrested for his murder.

Acquitted a month later, Burke demanded the championship belt from Jem Ward, who had retired rather than face Burke in the ring. However, Ward refused to give up the belt or even acknowledge Burke as the new champion.

Ward wasn’t the only one who feared facing Burke in the ring after Byrne’s death, and the young boxer travelled to the United States in 1937 to face new Irish champion Sam O’Rourke. But O’Rourke took sustained blows early in the match, and with the crowd against him and fearing the Irishman’s defeat, rioting ensued and Burke was obliged to flee on horseback.

Burke triumphed in the 37th round of his final fight in 1843 against Bob Castles, a relative by marriage.

In dire poverty and suffering from tuberculosis, Burke died at home in London at the age of 36. His name was added to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992, nearly 150 years later.

Deaf Baseball Player William Hoy (1862-1961)
A small man at about 5’4” and 150 pounds, there is nothing small about the way William “Dummy” Hoy played baseball. Hoy deserves fame not only as the first deaf player with a sustained career in the major leagues, but for initiating the hand signals used by umpires, managers and outfielders throughout the league today.

Perhaps the shortest major-league outfielder ever, Hoy, deaf since a bout with childhood meningitis, led the National League with 82 stolen bases his rookie year. His lifetime batting average is .288 (or .292 according to some records). At the age of 38 Hoy managed 337 putouts, a .977 fielding average and 45 assists over 137 games, the only time in the history of baseball that an outfielder topped the majors in all three categories.

But that wasn’t the statistic of which Hoy himself was most proud. Instead, it was the game where he managed to throw out three baserunners at home plate.

Personally, Hoy was a reserved man, quiet and well-liked by his teammates. He would famously carry a notepad in his breast pocket and use it to signal to umpires his opinion of bad calls against his team. His honesty was never doubted.

During one game that stretched into the twilight with Hoy playing center field, the umpire called the batter out when it appeared the slugger’s ball was caught on the fly. The umpire checked with Hoy to verify the call in the dusk, and Hoy  admitted that the ball had been caught on the bounce. His teammates furious, Hoy was satisfied that he’d told the truth.

Hoy spent train rides between games teaching his teammates sign language, which was useful on the field. Back in his day, the umpires shouted their calls, forcing Hoy to ask his coach if a ball or strike had been called when he was at bat. This gave the pitcher time to sneak in another quick pitch.

The story goes that Hoy began requesting his third-base coach to raise his left arm for a ball, his right arm for a strike, and newspaper accounts as early as 1888 verify that Hoy was following hand signals. It’s still disputed if Hoy came up with the system and others just built on it; the Hall of Fame credits umpire Bill Klem with inventing hand signals.

In October of 1961, baseball fever had taken hold of Cincinnati and the fledgling Reds battled the mighty Yankees in the World Series. Hoy, a ripe 99 years old, threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Game 3, and died two months later.

Deaf Swimmer Terrence Parkin (1980-    )
Born deaf, sport enthusiast Terrence Parkin hopped in the water at age 12 to begin a career that took him to the Olympics. Using sign language to communicate with his swimming coach, he set the African records for both the 200 and 400 meters individual medley.

When he began swimming, he couldn’t hear the starting tone for his races, so his coach would stand on the sidelines and sign “Go!” (Technology today uses the flash of lights to signal the start.)
At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Parkin finished the 200 meter breaststroke and looked up to see a “2” on the scoreboard next to his name. He’d been swimming in lane 2 and didn’t realize for a moment that he had just won a silver medal against hearing competitors!

Parkin managed to stay in top shape and finish even stronger in the 2005 Deaflympics, where he brought home two gold medals.

Today, Parkin is married and enjoys painting when he isn’t coaching both deaf and hearing kids in swimming at the Parkin-Widex swimming academy, a venture he founded with the hearing aid manufacturer.

Deaf Baseball Player Curtis Pride (1968-     )
A major league outfielder, Pride distinguished himself on the field and went on to become head baseball coach at the prestigious Gallaudet University.

Deaf at birth due to rubella, Pride developed oral skills with his five percent residual hearing and was a standout athlete in high school before starting as point guard at the College of William and Mary. Pride also played soccer for the U.S. at the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship in China, where he scored two goals in the tournament, including the match winner vs. Bolivia.

Pride made it to the majors with Montreal, becoming the first deaf player in the league since 1945. A left-handed batter and right-handed thrower, Pride never played regularly in the majors but pinch hit, stood in as an outfielder, or replaced injured players. In eleven seasons, Pride batted .250 with 20 home runs and 82 runs batted in (RBI) in 421 major league games. In 1996 he garnered the Tony Conigliaro Award, given to the major league player who best overcomes adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage.

With wife Lisa, Pride puts his free hours into the Together With Pride foundation to aid hearing-impaired children obtain hearing aids.

Deaf Football Player Kenny Walker (1967-    )
One of only two deaf players in the history of the NFL, Kenny Walker became profoundly deaf after contracting meningitis at the age of two.

Walker was a star player for the perennial football powerhouse University of Nebraska. Playing in his final home game there in 1991, the entire stadium paid him tribute by signing “applause” to him in unison. 

He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the eighth round of the 1991 NFL draft, playing in all 16 games his first year. Although his career ended after only his second season, Walker published an autobiography in 1998 titled, Roar of Silence: The Kenny Walker Story.