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Hand Signals in sports are a form of nonverbal communication, that provide a more efficient channel between the officiating crew, players, and fans. These hand signals can include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body, and they are essential to effective human interactions. Signals in sports are needed, because they communicate just as effectively as words- maybe even more so. All while saving time throughout the game, or match, by providing feedback for those who may not be able to hear the announcements of the game. The use of these signals have been shown to aid the officials nonverbal communication skills, by boosting confidence in themselves and their decisions. As well as the ability of the player, while sport teams as young as high school are embracing the speed and precision of communicating on the field with hand signals.

Hand Signals in Baseball
The incorporation of hand signals into baseball, dates back to the late 1800's, with the emergence of William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy. He was a professional player, who became deaf at age 3, after suffering from meningitis. Hoy often times found himself at a disadvantage when he was unable to understand the calls from the officials, due to the fact that they were only verbally spoken. To combat this, he began instructing his coaches to send him a form of signal, or hand gesture, that would represent the current pitch count. The use of these signals provided him access to the communication he was lacking, and after that his skills began to improve. It did not take long for other players and officials across the league to endorse Hoy's new idea, as it made communicating the game much easier for everybody involved. The effectiveness of these hand signals were put to the final test, during the 1906 World Series. The excitement from the fans inside stadium was so loud, not a single call could be heard throughout the ballpark. At which point, the officials in the game made a judgement call to switch to the hand signals for every pitch. They decided to simply raise their right arm for strikes, and their left arm for balls, and the games carried on successfully, without any further setbacks.

Descriptions of common signals used in baseball today:


 * Strike, made by extending your right arm out, along with your index, and middle finger. This signal is used to describe a batter swinging, and missing, an attempt at the ball.
 * Ball, typically the umpire makes no signal on this play. It means that the ball is thrown outside of the strike zone, and is unplayable.
 * Out, made by extending your left arm out in front of your body, with a closed fist. While yanking your right arm back towards your shoulder, and signaling out with your right thumb. This signals that the player is out of the game.
 * Safe, made by extending both arms and hands out away from your body, meaning that the runner has safely reached a base, and the play is over.

Hand Signals in Football
Hand signal use in football, was created more out of a necessity to cut down on the overall length of the games played. As well as to bring a better means of communication between the officiating crew, and the fans. Since the players are all typically in a consolidated group on the field, it was not a challenge to verbally relay information to them. Instead, their was a growing division between the officials on the field, and the fans, located all the way up in the stands. In an effort to stop wasting time, and to provide some clarity for their viewers, the officiating crew began to coordinate with the broadcasting team up in the booth, with signals. This way, whenever the game had to come to a stop, the broadcasters could quickly receive the information from the field, and relay it to the fans nearby.

The first game to use hand signals in football, was a 1929 college football standoff between Syracuse University, and Cornell University. The Literary Digest for September 21, 1929 covered the matter, stating that Sherlock Holmes was no longer needed for fans to understand what happens down on the field. Thanks to these new hand signals, fans could begin to wrap their mind around all of the little details that went into a football game. Only after its success in college, did the National Football League begin to consider incorporating hand signals into their own system. Although now, by 2019, the NFL will have over 35 signals to represent any number of different game scenarios that could occur.

Description of common signals used in football today:


 * Touchdown, made by raising both of your arms high over head, with your fingertips pointing towards the sky. Also make sure to keep your arms parallel to each other. This represents that one team has managed to score, by getting the ball into the end-zone.
 * Holding, made by curling your right arm up to a 90 degree angle, then grasp your right wrist with your left hand. This signal states that a player has committed a holding penalty.
 * Safety, made by raising both of your arms over your head, and placing your palms together. This indicates that one team will receive two points, along with possession of the football.