Tommy John and Dr. Frank Jobe

How a pitcher’s career-ending injury and a surgeon’s daring innovation transformed sports medicine and saved countless athletic careers.

Will O'Toole | August 22, 2026

Tommy John passed away Sunday at the age of 83. He spent 26 years being paid to play.

Every little boy’s dream.

During his almost three decades in the major leagues, he won 288 games with a .555 winning percentage in more than 4,700 innings pitched, with a solid 3.34 ERA, pitching for teams on the right and left coasts, and some in between.

He was a really good player, regarded today as a “cusp Hall of Famer,” who won titles and pennants with his teams.

He didn’t earn a World Series ring, but he did participate in three of them, all involving baseball’s most bitter interleague rivalry: the Yankees and Dodgers.

Yet, it is not just what John achieved on the field. His biggest impact came from what he did as a patient in an operating room—and during his recovery. For that, all of baseball will forever owe him a debt of gratitude: Tommy John Surgery.

Basically, it is the replacement of the ulnar collateral ligament, a band that attaches the humerus and ulna, with a graft or tendon from another section of the body or from a donor.

Usually, the operation is performed on a pitcher, although it can happen to any athlete who throws too much, exerting too much pressure and stress on the arm.

In short, the athlete blows out his/her........

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