home > Sports > People In Sports
Tags: sports, people in sports, athletes, left handed, sports players
The Greatest Left-Handed Athletes of All Time
The greatest left-handed athletes of all time are some of the greatest men and women to ever play baseball, basketball, football, hockey, tennis and many other sports. These talented athletes dominated their respective sports all while being in a minority, as a left-handed person. These athletes are not by any means all of the left-handed athletes but simply the best of the left-handed sports players ever. But which athlete is best? Tell us which left-handed athlete you think was the best ever by voting, re-ranking and adding your favorites below!
While all sports will see their share of left-handed athletes, the hand orientation will affect some athletes more than others. Being left handed is something you might not notice for hockey players, like Terry Sawchuk and Phil Esposito, basketball players, like Larry Bird and Bill Russell, and soccer players, like the great Pele, who often use both hands--or feet--regularly while playing the sport.
For other sports, it's clear when the athlete plays which hand is the dominant one. Baseball has what might be the highest percentage of left-handed athletes of all major sports and they are easy to spot when one takes the mound or lines up to hit. Babe Ruth is perhaps the best left-handed athlete ever but is joined by many other legendary baseball lefties such as Ty Cobb, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Barry Bonds.
Tennis, boxing and golf are other sports that let left-handed athletes shine. It's easy to spot left-handed tennis players like Monica Seles and John McEnroe, left-handed boxers like Oscar de la Hoya and left-handed golfers like the great Phil Mickelson.
Left-handed people may make up only around 10% of the population but clearly left-handed people are some of the top athletes of all time. We'll never know if Deion Sanders would have seen the success he did had he been right handed or if Rafael Nadal would have ever become the King of Clay as a righty but these talented athletes all persevered through their disadvantages to become legends and we have nothing but respect for them for that.
While all sports will see their share of left-handed athletes, the hand orientation will affect some athletes more than others. Being left handed is something you might not notice for hockey players, like Terry Sawchuk and Phil Esposito, basketball players, like Larry Bird and Bill Russell, and soccer players, like the great Pele, who often use both hands--or feet--regularly while playing the sport.
For other sports, it's clear when the athlete plays which hand is the dominant one. Baseball has what might be the highest percentage of left-handed athletes of all major sports and they are easy to spot when one takes the mound or lines up to hit. Babe Ruth is perhaps the best left-handed athlete ever but is joined by many other legendary baseball lefties such as Ty Cobb, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Barry Bonds.
Tennis, boxing and golf are other sports that let left-handed athletes shine. It's easy to spot left-handed tennis players like Monica Seles and John McEnroe, left-handed boxers like Oscar de la Hoya and left-handed golfers like the great Phil Mickelson.
Left-handed people may make up only around 10% of the population but clearly left-handed people are some of the top athletes of all time. We'll never know if Deion Sanders would have seen the success he did had he been right handed or if Rafael Nadal would have ever become the King of Clay as a righty but these talented athletes all persevered through their disadvantages to become legends and we have nothing but respect for them for that.
572 voters +
6 reranks
see all
- 1Up 157Down 331895
- 2Up 109Down 221903
- 3Up 152Down 301934
- 4Up 99Down 321940
- 5Up 93Down 331886
- 6Up 67Down 241978
- 7Up 82Down 171961
- 8Up 73Down 311986
- 9Up 97Down 271935
- 10Up 101Down 301969
- 11Up 84Down 261920
- 12Up 54Down 251887
- 13Up 84Down 261961
- 14Up 62Down 311970
- 15Up 73Down 261963
- 16Up 73Down 261944
- 17Up 62Down 291946
- 18Up 57Down 251960
- 19Up 57Down 361967
- 20Up 45Down 371964
- 21Up 28Down 121939
- 22Up 28Down 181900
- 23Up 51Down 231958
- 24Up 30Down 201961
- 25Up 24Down 141943
- 26Up 31Down 231944
- 27Up 41Down 161921
- 28Up 53Down 241959
- 29Up 26Down 171966
- 30Up 28Down 17
Ron Guidry
1950 - 31Up 28Down 171903
- 32Up 27Down 191965
- 33Up 29Down 271945
- 34Up 26Down 231909
- 35Up 45Down 251954
- 36Up 20Down 16
Tim Tebow
- 37Up 48Down 241956
- 38Up 41Down 241942
- 39Up 19Down 171945
- 40Up 26Down 191973
- 41Up 26Down 211972
- 42Up 40Down 361980
- 43Up 29Down 231949
- 44Up 21Down 171960
- 45Up 24Down 21
Vida Blue
1949 - 46Up 37Down 231952
- 47Up 26Down 221977
- 48Up 19Down 20
Grant Fuhr
1962 - 49Up 17Down 1
Wayne Gretzky
- 50Up 20Down 221978
-
items 1 - 50 of 71
rerank this list your way embed list
what's a rerank? -
LOADING HISTORY
today on Ranker
start a list with results
close sorting window
Rank Name
use the search box to filter your list
leave a comment