South Paw?

Keisha:

YOU GO GIRL!!! I'm ambidextrous!! My writing with my left isn't as good as my right - but hey!! My best friend is a lefty!!

The term came about WWWWAAAAYYY back in the late 1800's when baseball fields were designed so that batters are facing east, so that the afternoon or evening sun does not shine in their eyes This means that left-handed pitchers are throwing with their south-side arm.

It can also be used in Boxing...if you saw the movie - ROCKY - ooops - movieS - he is often referred to as a southpaw...

I have always heard of "south paw" but never thought about where it came from. I just looked it up and this was the answer I found "The term southpaw developed from the fact that left-handed pitchers face south because baseball diamonds are laid out with home plate to the west. The term has been traced back to 1885."

I too am left handed (as is my half-brother and my son) but I believe I would have written with my right hand if my aunt (also left handed) hadn't been the one who taught me to write because I do everything else right handed.

That is so funny. My husband's aunt saw me eating with my left hand (cutting with, forking, etc) and I thought she was going to squeal like a pig with excitement. Then she said in her finest Brooklyn accent, "I didn't know you were a 'lefty'. I had to burst her bubble and tell her I wasn't, there are many facets of my life where I can be ambidextrous. I had never seen someone so disappointed....

A lefty boxer is a southpaw but also it comes from baseball. I was told it comes due to baseball fields home plate facing East or West-can;t remember which but the pitcher would be throwing with his hand on the south so the sun would not get in his eyes. Might have those directions mixed up but that is supposed to be the gist of it. A friend of mine was lefty when I was 8 or 9 and her uncle would call her southpaw. Her name was Jenny so I didn't understand that.
Course I had to use a dictionary and encycolpedia back then to look it up.

My youngest is a lefty and a softball pitcher. Her coach last year called her Southpaw. She loved the attention of being different and she can pitch a softball very well. People are really into her being a lefty.

It has something to do with the traditional way a baseball diamond is laid out with home plate to the west so lefties face south when they pitch a baseball. Actually softball pitchers face forward but she liked the name and the coach so who cares!

I'm a southpaw, too. I always thought it was a boxing reference.

:)

I knew it was a baseball reference, but didn't know why until now.

Actually, I thought a south paw was a left-handed pitcher. I've never heard of it referring to a left-handed person, just a pitcher.

Learn something new every day!

It goes back to baseball... Every baseball stadium is set up the same way- so from home base to first base is on the south side of the field. When a left handed pitcher throws, he throws from the south. Hence, south paw =)

Baseball and Boxing both use "southpaw" (ever see Rocky?)

and here are some answers when I googled it

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2010102321432...

I think it's a boxing thing!?