Cast worn by Tommy John following the first Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction Sugery
date: label: date made
content: 1974
name: label: Associated Name
content: Los Angeles Dodgers
label: Associated Name
content: John, Tommy
notes: label: Description
content: Arm cast worn by Los Angeles Dodger's pitcher Tommy John following the first successful ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery (UCL.)
label: Description
content: The groundbreaking UCL reconstruction, which would go on to become colloquially known as <i>Tommy John Surgery,<i> was devised by Dr. Frank Jobe, the Dodger’s team doctor, to help John recover from <i>sore arm,<i> a debilitating twinge felt between the elbow and shoulder resultant from excessive strain on the elbow. Such injuries are common to baseball players, especially pitchers, who throw the ball at high speeds at odd angles.
label: Description
content: Jobe discovered that years of use had worn away John’s ulnar collateral ligament (UCL,) a tendon connecting the upper arm bone to the forearm at the elbow.
label: Description
content: In 1974, Jobe replaced John’s missing UCL with tendons taken from the wrist. It was the first time such a surgery was attempted to repair an elbow injury. Following an entire season of rehabilitation, John once again took the mound in 1976. Despite having had an injury that ended many a promising career, John found he was able to produce at pre-injury standards. Even more remarkably, he was able to continue to perform to the (relatively) advanced age of 46. Overall, John won 124 games before the surgery and 164 after.
label: Description
content: Since the unmitigated success of John’s surgery, over 500 major league baseball players have undergone UCL reconstruction surgery, including such notable names as John Smoltz, Jose Mesa, Paul Molitor, Jacob DeGrom, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Stephen Strasburg.
label: Description
content: Thje surgery has become increasingly used to treat collegiate and high school athletes, with 15–19-year-old boys and girls now representing the most common group undergoing the procedure. In 2021, George Mason University pitcher Sang Ho Baek died of complications resultant from his UCL reconstruction.
label: Description
content: In 2013 John and Jobe were honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, saying<i>The ground-breaking work of Dr. Frank Jobe to conceptualize, develop, refine and make mainstream Tommy John Surgery, a complex elbow procedure that has furthered the careers of hundreds of ballplayers, is a testament to the positive role of medicine in our game’s growth.<i>
label: Description
content: The cast has been cut along the length of the arm to make two sections and has been autographed in ink by members of the Dodger's organization and other well-wishers, including <i>Poundcake Mac</i>; Don Sutton; Pee Wee Reese ; Fred (Rick) Auerbach; Danny Murtaugh; Gail Hopkins; Steve Yeager; Bill Buckner; Steve Garvey; Manuel (Manny) Mota; Walt Alston; Monty Basgall; Bill Buehler; Jim Gilliam; Bill Russell; Jack Homel; Davey Lopes; Von Joshua; Ron Cey; Tom Lasorda; Frank Worth (?); Willie Crawford; <i>Dotty</i>; Eddie Solomon; Al Downing; Mark Crease; Red Adams; Doc Girardi(?)
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
topic: label: web subject
content: Sports
label: Subject
content: Baseball
label: Subject
content: Medical instruments and apparatus
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2022.0017.01
label: accession number
content: 2022.0017
label: catalog number
content: 2022.0017.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: cast
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plaster (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: top section: 8 in x 4 3/16 in x 15 in; 20.32 cm x 10.668 cm x 38.1 cm
label: Measurements
content: bottom section: 10 in x 4 3/16 in x 16 3/16 in; 25.4 cm x 10.668 cm x 41.148 cm