How many left-handed QBs are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Exploring left-handed QBs of the past and present

You don't often see left-handed quarterbacks in the NFL. It's a well-known fact that right-handed individuals have traditionally dominated the NFL's quarterback positions. However, famous left-handers have competed in the past at the highest of levels, among them are Boomer Esiason, Mark Brunell, and Jim Zorn.

Some left-handers have really left an impact on the game, such as Michael Vick. Vick was a duel-threat QB that could wreck defenses with his speed and agility, as well as with his arm. You see several quarterbacks with similar styles in the NFL today. Interestingly, only two lefty quarterbacks have made the Hall of Fame thus far, and that number isn't expected to change any time soon.

The first was Steve Young, who was inducted as part of the batch inducted in 2005. Young is one of only two quarterbacks to have led the league in passing on six occasions in league history. He was a superstar for the San Francisco 49ers and was named NFL MVP twice and was a three-time Super Bowl champion (however, only once as a starter). In his career, Young threw for 33,124 yards, 232 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 96.8.

Young finished the 1994 season by winning the third of his three Super Bowls (he was also named MVP that year), and after his outstanding showing against the San Diego Chargers, he was named Super Bowl MVP. The cherry on top of this fantastic career was when he became a Pro Football Hall of Famer. In addition to being the best left-handed quarterback in NFL history, Steve Young embodies brilliance.

Ken Stabler was the second and last left-handed quarterback to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He led the Oakland Raiders to victory in Super Bowl 11 (1977) and won the 1974 NFL MVP. It was much less of a passing league at the time, and he threw for 2,469 yards and 26 touchdowns in his MVP campaign.

Why don't we see many left-handed QBs in Football?

While left-handed people account for around 10% of the U.S. population, they constitute a significantly lower portion of quarterbacks.

The thought process is that we rarely see lefties because offenses are designed to utilize right-handers. Managers would have to change players and alter plays to make room for a left-handed player. Wideouts are also accustomed to collecting balls thrown by right-handed players and have a more challenging time receiving passes made by left-handers.

Realistically, all of the above issues could be dealt with in training and probably during the course of an offseason. On the flip-side, a left-handed QB could prove a boon to an offense as they are different to what defenses are used to dealing with.

A major reason we don't see many left-handed QBs in the NFL is because we don't see many coming out of college in the draft. A lot of left-handed players are moved into other positions during childhood and college, as often the coaches either believe in the excuses above, or don't see NFL potential in the prospects. However, every now and then we see a left-hander like Michael Vick take the league by storm.

Do we have any active left-handed QBs in the NFL today?

The only quarterback in the NFL today that throws with his left hand is Tua Tagovailoa. That was deliberately phrased because Tagovailoa isn't actually left-handed. He is in fact right-handed, however, his father trained him to throw with his left hand from a young age. Why would he do that? So he would have another south-paw to play catch with, naturally.

Tagovailoa was perhaps one of the most intriguing draft picks from the 2020 NFL Draft. In 2018, he accrued 43 passing touchdowns and over 4,000 passing yards while starting for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Miami Dolphins selected him with the fifth overall pick. Tagovailoa is the only lefty quarterback to start a game in the NFL since Kellen Moore played for the Dallas Cowboys in 2015.