Athletes with Disabilities

Don't Let Your Disability Interfere with Your Desire to Play Sports

Nov 4, 2009 Megan Drummond

Everything can be adapted to work with your disability, even sports. Here are some examples of athletes who made their disabilities work for them.

Organized sports, in one form or another, are a part of every child’s life. Some children go on to play the sports they love in high school, college and the pros. Others may dream of having the opportunity to continue their sports careers, but think that their disability will prevent them from doing so.

This, however, is not the case.

Here are some examples of professional and amateur athletes with disabilities that will encourage any child to keep playing.

Baseball

Pete Gray was a naturally right-handed boy who excelled at baseball and dreamed of someday playing in the Majors. Just three years after a farming accident cost Pete his right arm, he had learned to pitch and hit with his left arm and was playing high school ball. After graduating from high school, Pete made the rounds of the minor leagues until getting picked up as an outfielder by the St. Louis Browns in 1945. His career with the team lasted only one season. Pete spent a few more years in the minors before finally retiring in 1949.

Jim Abbott was a college baseball star who went on to play ten seasons in the Major League, despite being born without a right hand. Jim was drafted right out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays but didn’t sign, instead opting to play college ball at the University of Michigan. In 1988, the California Angels drafted Jim. He went on to play for four teams in his ten-year career.

Basketball

Since he began playing basketball, Kevin Laue has repeatedly heard that he would be a top NCAA Division I recruit if only he had two hands. The 6’ 10” center, whose left arm ends at the elbow, proved that a second hand is not necessary when he accepted a scholarship to play ball at Manhattan College. Kevin can palm the ball easily with his right hand and uses his left arm to help pin passes against his right hand. Even though he is the tallest player on the roster, Kevin expects that he will have to fight for playing time as a freshman. His first game as a Jasper is tonight.

Football

Drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 1991 draft, Kenny Walker became the second deaf player in the NFL. Profoundly deaf from a childhood bout with meningitis, Kenny survived on the gridiron by reading the lips of the quarterback and receiving defensive signals from his fellow linebackers. Off the field, he had an interpreter for team meetings. He played two seasons with the Broncos before moving to the Canadian Football League, where he played with Calgary for two seasons. Walker left football to pursue another dream – coaching deaf children.

References:

http://sports.jrank.org/pages/5116/Walker-Kenny-Joined-Denver-Broncos.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/sports/ncaabasketball/26hoops.html

http://www.jimabbott.info/biography.html

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Pete_Gray_1915

The copyright of the article Athletes with Disabilities in Disabilities is owned by Megan Drummond. Permission to republish Athletes with Disabilities in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Basketball Hoop

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