35 Yrs Ago, Tommy John has Self-Titled Surgery

Posted by admin

September 25, 2009

elbow anatomy 35 years ago today, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John underwent an elbow surgery that now bears his name. Dr. Frank Jobe repaired the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) by taking a tendon from John’s other forearm and surgically weaving it into place (with the help of holes drilled in the bones).

At the time, it was considered radical, but thanks to John’s recovery, the surgery is now commonplace.¹ After 18 months of rehab, Tommy John came back and pitched another TWELVE years up to the age of 46! Many pitchers and even some outfielders since have undergone the surgery and had plenty of post-operation success. Among them are John Smoltz, David Wells, Billy Wagner, Matt Holliday (outfielder), and John Franco just to name a few.

Taking Tommy John surgery to the next level was Dr. James Andrews, a name you have likely heard many times before. Andrews works on athletes from all sports and has performed over 40,000 surgeries on shoulders, elbows, and knees, but his 2,500+ elbow surgeries having given MLB teams plenty to be thankful for over the past few decades. Andrews is a Dinner Topic in his own right, but regarding Tommy John surgery, he helped give the procedure a success rate of more than 85%.

Bonus stat: Tommy John earned 164 wins and posted an ERA of 3.66 after his surgery.²

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