Famous Lefties

With Aug. 13 being International Left-Handers Day, here's a look at some famous lefties in sports history.

SI Staff | May 19, 2010

Famous Lefties /

Famous Lefties

Babe Ruth

Is he the greatest baseball player who ever lived? One thing's for sure: The Great Bambino was a lefty.

Lou Gehrig

Gehrig was a terror from the left side of the plate, hitting for a career average of .340 and smashing 493 home runs. He holds the record for most career grand slams, with 23.

Bill Russell

Russell won 11 NBA titles and five MVP awards over a 13-year career with the Boston Celtics, dominating the paint on defense.

Steve Young

Sure, having the game's greatest receiver at your disposal is a big help, but Young was no slouch himself. He won three Super Bowls and two MVPs over a Hall of Fame career.

David Robinson

The No. 1 pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, Robinson played all 14 years in San Antonio, racking up more than 20,000 points and winning two championships.

Sandy Koufax

Seven All-Star selections, four World Series rings, three Cy Young awards, one NL MVP and two World Series MVPs are more than enough to land Koufax on this list of famous lefties.

Steve Carlton

Carlton was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 after a more than 20-year career over which he played for six teams, winning titles with the Cardinals and Phillies.

Randy Johnson

The Big Unit retired in 2009 with more than 300 wins, 4,800 strikeouts and a legacy as one of the most unhittable flame-throwing lefties to ever take the mound.

Ken Griffey Jr.

The Kid has 630 career home runs to his name, while he is also considered one of the game's all-time great centerfielders.

Reggie Jackson

Jackson hit 563 home runs over a 20-year career with the A's, Orioles, Yankees and Angels, but is best known for his clutch hitting, earning him the nickname Mr. October.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal's 14 Grand Slam singles titles and '08 Olympic gold medal make him one of the most feared men in tennis.

Phil Mickelson

Golf's Lefty turned pro in 1992, and since has racked up 42 wins on the PGA Tour, including five Major Championships. Is he the best left-hander ever to pick up a club?

Bob Lanier

A six-time NBA All-Star, Lanier's No. 16 jersey hangs in the rafters in Detroit and Milwaukee, where he starred to the tune of 19,248 career points.

Dave Cowens

Known as "The Cow" or "Big Red," Dave Cowens' smooth left hand was responsible for more than 13,000 career points and MVP honors in 1973.

Whitey Ford

In 17 years with the New York Yankees, Ford won six World Series titles. He has more World Series wins than any other pitcher in history, and was named MVP of the 1961 series.

Warren Spahn

Spahn's 23-year Hall of Fame career included stops with the Braves, Mets and Giants. Along the way, he won 363 total games and a Cy Young award in 1957.

Clayton Kershaw

Three Cy Youngs and one MVP award by the age of 26 makes six-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw already one of the greatest southpaws of all time.

Willis Reed

While he's best remembered for his limping onto the court in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals, Reed won Rookie of the Year, MVP and was a seven-time All-Star.

Gail Goodrich

Goodrich starred on the first two national championship teams at UCLA before a Hall of Fame pro career spent mostly with the Lakers, making him a Los Angeles legend.

Rod Laver

Laver is the only tennis player in history to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year two times. He's so cool, Adidas's Rod Laver sneaker continues to sell today.

Jimmy Connors

James Scott Connors won more than 80 percent of his matches as a professional, and is considered among the greatest players in history.

John McEnroe

The original Bad Boy of Tennis, McEnroe was a wild force on the court, but also a top player. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles and nine Grand Slam doubles titles.

Tom Glavine

Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine won at least 20 games in a season five times, and he is one of just six left-handers to win 300 games. He also has two Cy Youngs and a World Series MVP trophy.

Lefty Grove

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove made his big league debut in 1925 with the Philadelphia Athletics and went on to a 300-win career with the A's and Red Sox.

Nate Archibald

At 6-foot-1, Tiny was unimposing, but with the ball in his hands, he was a menace. His Hall of Fame career included time with the Royals, Kings, Nets, Celtics and Bucks.

Chris Bosh

CB4 has made 11 consecutive All-Star games, and he was a part of two NBA championship teams in Miami, thanks to his sweet left hand.

James Harden

"The Beard" first came to prominence as a change-of-pace guard off the bench for the Thunder, winning Sixth Man of the Year and helping Oklahoma City reach the 2012 NBA Finals. Harden parlayed that success into a max contract with the Rockets and continued on as one of the league’s most prolific scorers, making four All-Star Games and finishing as an MVP runner-up in 2015.

Antonio Brown

Arguably the best receiver in the NFL, Brown’s lefthanded tendency has played a role in warding off would-be defenders and opening the gaps that have made him a highlight reel. Brown has enjoyed a rapid rise to the top of the receiver mountain, being named to four Pro Bowls since he was drafted by Pittsburgh in 2010. But his lefthandedness really came to national prominence in 2014 when he threw a short touchdown to Lance Moore that shifted momentum and catapulted the Steelers to a Week 7 win against the Texans.

Barry Bonds

Barry's statistics, overshadowed as they are by allegations that he used performance enhancers, include 762 career homers, 73 in one season, 2,935 career hits, 1,996 RBI, and seven NL MVP awards.

Boomer Esiason

Boomer spent the majority of his career at the helm for the Bengals, including 1988, when he was named NFL MVP. He also played for the Cardinals and Jets.

Ken Stabler

Stabler was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was also named the 1974 NFL MVP after leading the league with 26 touchdowns and throwing for 2,469 yards. Stabler played 15 seasons in the NFL, including 10 with the Oakland Raiders, who won Super Bowl XI behind "Snake."

Aroldis Chapman

The "Cuban Missle" holds the record for the fastest recorded pitch speed in MLB history at 105 mph. A dominant closer, Chapman was a four-time consecutive All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds.

Martina Navratilova

Billie Jean King called Navratilova the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived. On top of that, she did it playing left-handed.

Bubba Watson

Watson is among the longest drivers on the PGA Tour and has won the Masters Tournament twice (2012 and '14).

Mike Weir

Mickelson is the left-handed star of the PGA, but Weir was the first southpaw to win The Masters, in 2003. That victory also made him the first Canadian ever to win a Major.

Tim Tebow

Tebow's list of achievements includes a Heisman Trophy and multiple NCAA championships.

Bruce Jenner

Before becoming Caitlyn Jenner, Bruce was an Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. in the decathlon at the 1976 games in Montreal.

Barack Obama

The 44th President of the United States played guard in high school for Punahou School, the 1979 state champion of Hawaii. Shortly after taking office, President Obama had the White House tennis court adapted so it could be used for both tennis and basketball.

Published May 19, 2010

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