Dr. Frank Jobe

Frank Wilson Jobe, (born July 16, 1925, Greensboro, N.C.—died March 6, 2014, Santa Monica, Calif.) American orthopedic surgeon who was dubbed the “godfather of sports medicine” for having devised pioneering surgical procedures, notably for the elbow and the shoulder, that were instrumental in treating what had previously been career-ending injuries for athletes, particularly baseball pitchers. After serving as an army medic during World War II, Jobe earned a medical degree (1956) from Loma Linda (Calif.) University and cofounded (1965, with Robert Kerlan) the Southwestern Orthopaedic Medical Group (renamed [1985] the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic) in Los Angeles. In 1968 he became the orthopedist for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, and in 1974 he performed an ulnar collateral ligament reconstructive surgery on pitcher Tommy John, who had torn a ligament in his elbow. Jobe removed an unused tendon from John’s right wrist to restore functionality to his elbow. Although John needed a season and a half of rehabilitation, he returned to the mound in 1976 and won an additional 164 games (he had already posted 124 victories) before retiring in 1989 at age 46. Dozens of other pitchers extended their careers after having received what became known as “Tommy John surgery.” In 1990 Jobe performed an innovative surgery on the pitching shoulder of Orel Hershiser, who had sustained an injury to his rotator cuff. After a year of recovery, Hershiser returned to the major leagues for nearly another decade. Besides running his private practice, Jobe was the founder and medical director of the Biomechanics Laboratory at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he studied body motion and specialized in refining exercises to prevent injury. In 2013 Jobe was given special recognition for his contributions to baseball at a ceremony at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Dr. Frank Jobe, the doctor who pioneered the most famous surgery in sports, he changed the course of baseball history when, in 1974, he replaced the torn medial collateral ligament in left-hander Tommy John's elbow with a tendon from John's forearm. John went on to pitch 14 years after the operation, compiling 164 more victories without ever missing a start because of an elbow problem. The procedure became known as "Tommy John" surgery, and it prolonged the careers of hundreds of other pitchers, including stars such as John Smoltz, Kerry Wood and Stephen Strasburg. A 2013 study found that 124 active pitchers, about one-third of those in the majors, had undergone Tommy John surgery at some point in their careers. Before Jobe, such an injury was certain to end a pitcher's career.

Jobe joined the Dodgers in 1964 and served in the organization for 50 years. A soft-spoken Southerner, he visited Dodger Stadium several times last season and spoke with the media following the death of colleague Lewis Yocum, the longtime Los Angeles Angels team physician. Along with his mentor, the late Dr. Robert Kerlan, Jobe formed the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in 1965, still one of the primary destinations for pitchers undergoing the surgery. They supervised the medical treatment for the Dodgers and Angels, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks, as well as other pro and amateur athletes around the country. Jobe is survived by his wife, Beverly, and four sons, Christopher, Meredith, Cameron and Blair.