Left-handed quarterbacks are unusual in the NFL. They throw the ball “backwards” and it spins in the opposite direction that right-handed passers have. There have been some very successful lefty signal callers like Hall of Famers Ken Stabler and Steve Young. But lefty quarterbacks are few and far between. The Green Bay Packers have been no exception to that rule. In fact, in the more than 100 years the Packers have been in the NFL, only four left-handed quarterbacks have played for the Packers. In order to make this list, a player had to throw at least one pass in a regular reason or playoff game for the Packers. These are the only four left-handed quarterbacks in Green Bay Packers history. See if you can remember them all. They are listed in chronological order.

The Only Left-Handed Quarterbacks in Packers History, Number One: Jim Del Gaizo

The Packers won the NFC Central Division crown in 1972, finishing the season with a 10-4 record. But head coach and GM Dan Devine wanted to upgrade his passing offense after Scott Hunter completed just 43.2 percent of his passes that season.

Devine traded for lefthanded passer Jim Del Gaizo who spent the 1972 season as the third string quarterback on the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins. He made only four appearances that season and threw just nine passes although two of them went for touchdowns. The Packers gave up two second-round picks for Del Gaizo.

In his first game with the Packers, Del Gaizo came off the bench in Week 2 to lead the team to a last-minute field goal against the Lions that earned the Packers a 13-13 tie. Nobody knew it at the time, but this would be the best moment for Del Gaizo in his brief time with the Packers.

He started the next two games but completed just 5-of-18 passes and was benched for Hunter who led a comeback win against the New York Giants.

By season’s end, Del Gaizo completed just 27-of-62 passes for 318 yards. He threw two touchdowns and six interceptions. The Packers parted ways with Del Gaizo by trading him to the Giants for a third-round pick. He made one start for the Giants, was briefly back with the Dolphins but was out of football after the 1975 season.

Number Two: Bobby Douglass

Most Packers fans remember Bobby Douglass as the Bears starter in the early-to-mid 70s. He had a strong arm and was one of the best running quarterbacks in NFL history. In fact, he set a record in 1972 for rushing yards by a quarterback by gaining 968 yards on 141 carries. That season, he ran for eight touchdowns while throwing for nine. Douglass was not an accurate passer, however and his career completion percentage was just 43.0.

He joined the Packers in 1978 as a backup to David Whitehurst. Lynn Dickey missed that entire season after suffering a broken leg the previous year and Douglass gave the Packers experienced depth behind the second-year Whitehurst.

Douglass played 12 games for the Packers that year, often acting as the holder for kicker Chester Marcol. He threw his final NFL touchdown pass in the Packers Week 11 blowout loss to the Cowboys when he connected with Steve Odom on an 18-yard scoring play. The Packers were his final stop of his 10-year NFL career.

The Only Left-Handed Quarterbacks in Packers History, Number Three: Jim Zorn

Jim Zorn joined the Packers during the 1985 season after spending the previous nine seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. In fact, Zorn was the first quarterback in Seahawks history.

The Packers had three quarterbacks start games in 1985, Dickey, Randy Wright, and Zorn. Zorn started five games for the Packers that season and the team won three of them. That included leading the Packers on a last-minute drive that led to the winning field goal in a 26-23 win in Detroit in Week 15.

He completed 56-of-123 passes for 794 yards and four touchdowns with the Packers.

Zorn played one more game in the NFL during the 1987 strike, leading the Bucs to a win over the Vikings in Week 6. He was later the head coach for Washington in 2008 and 2009.

Number Four: Mark Brunell

The Packers selected Mark Brunell in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He was one of several quarterbacks drafted by Ron Wolf as backups to Brett Favre who he was later able to trade for draft choices.

Brunell did not play any games in 1993 but made his NFL debut in 1994 in Week 8 against the Vikings when Favre suffered a hip pointer. The Packers lost the game in overtime.

Brunell played just one more game for the Packers in 1994. For the season, he completed 12-of-27 passes for 95 yards. The Packers traded him to the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars the following offseason in exchange for third and fifth round draft picks. Brunell started for the Jaguars for the next eight seasons and was named to three Pro Bowls.

To date, he is the last left-handed quarterback to appear in a regular season game for the Green Bay Packers.

 

 

 

 

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