We've all heard of racism, sexism, fascism and all that, but what about left-handism? With around 10% of the British population being left-handed they are undeniably scarce, a minority who must contend with smudging their work when writing, not being able to use scissors and having to struggle in a world created for the right-handed majority.
However, while left-handers could moan about the traumas of life and their difficulties in a right-handed world, there is one area that they may just have an advantage. Sport. Indeed, there is a serious debate at issue here: who are the more spectacular and successful performers: right-handers or left-handers?
Left-handers have, of course, been marginalised throughout history. In Latin, the word for "left" is sinister and the word originates from the Old English “left”, which meant “weak”. The left side is commonly associated with the devil and the right with God. Only the ancient Greeks appreciated left-handers; their word for left was "aristera" - "the best". in other words.
While right-handers seem to dominate the world, they do not carry their superiority into sport. Perversely, left-handers have come to rule many record books. Illustrious left-handers range from John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova in tennis, Babe Ruth in baseball, Garry Sobers in cricket and Mark Williams in snooker. Those who prefer their left foot in football include Roberto Carlos, Johan Cruyff, Bobby Charlton and Diego Maradona.
While it is thought that left-handers are more likely to be schizophrenic, alcoholic, dyslexic, get into accidents and die young, they have an advantage in many sports due to the surprise element. Right-handed athletes are used to competing against other right-handed athletes; when faced with a left-hander they are unprepared. Within many sports, handedness plays a key role. Being of the left-handed minority myself I can vividly remember playing rounders at school; the opposing field would yell “lefty” when I came to bat, all scuffling their positions to best adapt to the direction I would be most likely to hit it. The reverberations of “lefty” were ringing in my ears as I swung at the incoming ball.
Tests conducted at St Lawrence University in New York found there were more left-handers with IQs over 140 than right-handers. It is thought that left-handers are more creative, emotional and spatially aware, whereas a right-hander is more logical and mathematical. Some of the world’s most influential individuals have been southpaws. Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were left-handers, as were Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Mozart and of course Ned Flanders from the Simpsons. Let's ignore Jack the Ripper and Bill Clinton, shall we?
Handedness is a matter that is at times ignored in everyday life. Everything from door handles to hand shakes to gear sticks are in favour of right-handers. This is not true of sport, though. Left-handed and left-footed performers are sought after, especially in team sports such as football and cricket. One cannot merely be distinguished as left or right-handed but instead should be viewed as having tendencies towards one side. Not all left-handers are left-footed and not all right-handers are right-footed. When I play football, often I will be put on the left-hand side; little do the team know that I am in fact right-footed. Many would brand me as “not a real leftie”, yet this fact uncovers the adaptability of a left-hander. Growing up, many left-handers will use their right hand or foot and adapt to prevent certain challenges. David Gower, the former England batsman and the most graceful of cricketers, was persuaded to bat left-handed as a boy, even though he is a righty in just about every other respect.
Research has shown that left-handers can see under water more efficiently than right-handers, and though this may not be the case for the many successful left-handed swimmers, it is an advantage all the same. Mark Spitz, winner of seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics, was a southpaw. Advantages for left-handed swimmers seems to lie in their ability to be more ambidextrous than their counterparts, as they have been forced to adapt to a right-sided world and thus tend to favour both arms.
Three of the greatest baseball players of all time are of the leftie persuasion: Ruth, Barry Bonds and Mickey Mantle. Ruth is often cited as the best player baseball has ever witnessed. His career mark of 714 home runs stood as the all-time record for 39 years before Hank Aaron usurped him. Bonds, Ruth's only rival as baseball's finest, equalled the Babe's mark in May 2006. Fittingly, albeit extraordinarily, the vital home run came off a left-handed pitcher Brad Halsey, and was caught by a left-handed fan. Mantle, meanwhile, still holds the record for most World Series home runs more than four decades since he struck his last.
Mantle was famed for his flexibility. Throughout his career he utilised switch-hitting, thus enabling him to offer the New York Yankees immense flexibility: he could bat from either side of the plate. He was naturally gifted, and developed his switch-hitting at a young age, "My dad taught me to switch-hit. He and my grandfather, who was left-handed, pitched to me every day after school in the back yard. I batted lefty against my dad and righty against my granddad." Left-handers are prized in baseball for a reason. Left-handed hitters swing at the ball in such a way that their momentum will carry their body in the direction of first base, saving precious time. Also, lefty pitchers can keep an eye on the runner at first base.
Baseball pitchers and cricket bowlers alike can deliver balls, which are awkward for right-handed batters, who are not used to contending with such awkward angled balls. Their style may look ungainly to the eye but they are effective all the same. Many left-handers writing style is far from elegant, yet this does not hinder their writing; the same applies to bowling.
The Premiership boasts numerous left-footers, including Ryan Giggs, John Arne Riise, Ashley Cole, Harry Kewell and Damien Duff. They bring variety, fill the gaps in a team which need filling and pose new challenges to their opponents.
Lefties are actually over-represented in confrontational sports. This is particularly significant in boxing. Left-handers jab along the same line as their opposition, creating problems for the right-hander. In addition to this, their stance would be a mirror image of their opponent instead of the opposite, creating a problem of stepping on each other’s feet.The advantages do not stop here.
Left-handed tennis players are known for being difficult to receive serves from as they can produce awkward angles. Furthermore, a right-hander’s game is hindered as hitting the ball across the court to their opponents backhand becomes ineffective since it would be on a lefty’s stronger forehand. The left-handed tendency in tennis is also represented by the likes of Jimmy Connors, Monica Seles and, probably the greatest athlete ever to bestride a court, Rod Laver, the only player, man or woman, to have won two Grand Slams. Indeed, between 1974 and 1984 all 11 winners of the US Open men's singles were left-handed. Between 1955 and 2004, 41 of the 200 major men’s tournaments were won by a lefty.
Left-handers are still marginalised in polo and hockey, as all players are made to play right-handed. There is no left-hander's stick or mallet. While this is outright discrimination it could also be seen as an advantage for lefties, due to the fact that their left hand would be placed at the top of the stick and thus control much of the movement. Besides, left-handers are hardly alone in being marginalised from polo.
The winners are the ambidextrous. Many sportsmen and women are urged to train both their left and right side, with pitchers, bowlers, footballers, boxers and the like all being trained to strengthen their weaker side, to dispel any disadvantages.
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