Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-06-19
LEFT FLANDERS OVERRATED
Southpaw Declares it is Mistake to
Fear Them.
ONLY ADVANTAGE IN GOLF
Popular Impression is that Left
Handed Athlete is Naturally Top
nOtcher--Has Faculty of
Using Both Hands.

NEW YORK, June 1S.'T sometimes won
der" said the left-handed man, whether
providence has favored the left-handed ath-
lete as much as some of our right-handed
brothers would have US believe. OF all the
sports, base ball. l suppose, places the big
gest premiums on the 'Southpaw,' but even
(. on the diamond the advantage of being
left-handed is apt TO be overrated. There
are probably a dozen right-handed stars
for every 'southpaw in the National and
+, American leagues today.
But consider 1t in such things as golf
and tennis The appearance of a left-hander
on tennis court invariably is taken as
signal for the man on the other side
of the net to look out. Look out for what? ?
apparently the only thing to look out for
hs his back-hand strokes, which must be
taken on the right side instead of the left.
Otherwise, he Is no more dangerous than
a right-hander In doubles of course, the
i combination OF right and a left-hander
makes good working team, because the
two can cover a lot Of territory, but two
ssuch men playing together for the first
time will probably have more trouble keep
ing out Of each others way than two right
handlers or two left-handers.
I'm golf there really isn't any advantage
one way or another. Yes. there is one ad-
vantage, but II Is slight one. The aver
age left-handed player is likely to be more
or less ambidextrous. Left-handed people
are ieft-handed by nature; they learn to
Use the other hand usually from childhood
so that you find many of them able to use
both hands by the time they ara grownups.
Now, In golf, a man sometimes gets a
lie that hardly can be played right-handed.
"A fence or a hedge or tree stands in the
way. Some players carry a feh-handed
mldlron or mashie for just such an emer-
geucy. But right-handed player is not
likely TO be skllful with a left-handcd
club Put the average left-hander In the
Same sort Of a situation and he will get
out of II much more easily. He can borrow
his partners midiron or mashie. II he has
no right-handed club OF his own and he
Is much more likely to adapt himself than
his right-handed opponent. simply because
of that tendency among left-handers TO
become ambidextrous"
There are a number of tennis players who
have way of shifting their racquet from
one hand to the other in order to negotiate
. difficult shot. 1t is not good tennis, to
be sure. but some men do II and are often
able to return the ball In that way when
they could not possibly reach II II they
kept their racquet in one hand all the
slime. The same thing Is done in base
Ball. usually with better results.
Right" says the left-handed man.
you've seen men get up to the bat and
take the first ball or two right handed,
and switch. around and face the pitcher
as left-hander, What seems hard to
understand is the way some ball players
pitch right-handed but bat left-handed."
There was an interesting case OF the sue
oessful ieft-handed athlete last winter when
Wendell Of Pennsylvania won the inter
collegiate fencing championship. Wendell
was left-handed, and Ia a sport like fenc-
cog a left-hander would undoubtedly give
his opponent lot of trouble But It must
ne remembered that Wendell fencing right
Aanded men was placed IN exactly the came
position as his rlght-handed opponents
when they faced him. He was perhaps,
moro accustomed 10 meeting rlght-handers
than the left-handers, but, generally speak
ing, the advantages and disadvantages were
pretty evenly distributed. Wendell, though.
suffered like many another left-hander. be-
cause people said. "Oh. we'll. what can a
man do with left-hander7" The fact
OF the matter Is. Wendell was the best
feneer on the mat. and he would have won
II he had been as good feneer right
handed.