Disabled footballer makes history as the first one-handed player to join an NFL team

A disabled athlete has made history as the first one-handed player to be drafted into a professional NFL team.

Shaquem Griffin, 22, was forced to have his hand amputated at age four due to a congenital defect and battled against the odds to continue with a sporting career.

Last night, the linebacker was celebrating as years of determination paid off after he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the NFL draft on Saturday.

"I want to show the entire world, no matter (if you have) one hand, two hands, if you're a ball player, you just play ball," he said ahead of his selection.

"As long as I get a chance to get to a practice, I'm going to show everybody what I can really do."

Shaquem, whose twin brother Shaquill was selected by the Seahawks in the third round last year, was in attendance at Dallas' AT&T Stadium to hear his name called at the 2018 NFL Draft.

Despite his birth defect, Shaquem loved playing American football from a young age, and said he was determinged to show that he was "not just a fell-good story" but a serious player in his own right.

He excelled at the college level, winning his conference's defensive player of the year award in 2016 and then starring for an unbeaten team last season.

The player was in hot demand thanks to his speed in the pitch. Credit: AP

And he had been hotly-tipped to turn professional thanks to his exceptional speed on the pitch.

Shaquem gained worldwide attention at the NFL Combine in March when he ran the ran the quickest 40-yard dash for a linebacker since 2003.

Griffin also bench-pressed 225 pounds 20 times, three more than his twin had managed, having attached a prosthetic hand onto the bar, with current NFL defensive stars JJ Watt and Von Miller among those to react in awe on social media.