"Southpaw" - Where Did the Term Come From?

[Kibbee Nayee]

Does anyone know how the term "Southpaw" was coined to describe a left-handed pitcher?

Traditionally, baseball parks -- in the days before night baseball games -- were laid out so the batter faced east. After all, the sun rises in the east, and by early afternoon when a game starts, the sun would be well overhead and heading to the western side of the stadium behind the batter. The batter would therefore never have the sun in his eyes.

That would mean the pitcher faced west, and imposing an imaginary compass on the pitcher's head, the left arm would be on his south side. Thus, "southpaw" was the natural nickname.

(Of course, you might wonder why "northpaw" for the righthander never caught on, but who really cares?)

[darkstar965]

Does anyone know how the term "Southpaw" was coined to describe a left-handed pitcher?

Traditionally, baseball parks -- in the days before night baseball games -- were laid out so the batter faced east. After all, the sun rises in the east, and by early afternoon when a game starts, the sun would be well overhead and heading to the western side of the stadium behind the batter. The batter would therefore never have the sun in his eyes.

That would mean the pitcher faced west, and imposing an imaginary compass on the pitcher's head, the left arm would be on his south side. Thus, "southpaw" was the natural nickname.

(Of course, you might wonder why "northpaw" for the righthander never caught on, but who really cares?)

Like so many anachronistic terms, historical origins are often hotly debated. I had heard something about this before but couldn't remember details, other than, in the version I'd heard, I thought the term pre-dated baseball. Sure, enough, that version of events, while not 100% certain! is easy to find now. And, by this telling, there is a rarely-used "north paw" as well. One of two sources cited is the OED. Hmmm.

http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/southpaw/