help with the term "southpaw"

by So Cal Bob on Apr 28, 2005 7:50 PM EDT

During a spirited discussion at work, the term "southpaw" was used. This led to a debate about the actual term. It went so far as to someone using the lingo from Rocky I. Can anyone tell the story about how lefties were named "southpaws"? I can't find anything on this subject other than a definition which says "left handed pitcher."

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Here's some info:

Southpaw has its origins in 1880s' baseball slang. Baseball diamonds were often arranged so the batters would face east, to avoid looking into the afternoon sun. The pitcher's left hand, or paw, would therefore be on the southern side.

taken from: http://www.wordorigins.org/wordors.htm

by Russ Oates on Apr 28, 2005 7:55 PM EDT reply actions

great handle, art core.

--Brew Crew Ball, daily Brewers blog and online community

by jsackmann on Apr 29, 2005 3:16 AM EDT up reply actions

I Think I know...

Actually I know this, and I quote The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees:

"In the later part of the 1880s, Finley Peter Dunne, a sports writer with a sense of humor, was covering baseball games in Chicago. At one particular game, Dunne noticed that a left-handed pitcher released the ball with his hand (paw) that was to his south side. (It must have been a boring game!) Just like a lot of these dopey expressions, this one stuck and we now call lefthanders southpaws. Apparetly, Mr. Dunne did not see fit to call right handers northpaws."

This is as good an explanation as I've heard.

Julian de Lavalle

by jdelavalle on Apr 30, 2005 5:44 PM EDT reply actions