Tommy John, namesake for a pioneering elbow surgery that saved his career, dies at 83

Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John praises his late friend, Dr. Frank Jobe, during a 2014 memorial service at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

The left-handed MLB pitcher was 31 years old when he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow in 1974, an injury that had been a death knell for pitchers’ careers up to that point.

(Image credit: Damian Dovarganes)