The men behind the surgery

Tommy John after the surgery with Dr. Frank Jobe

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John undergoes a revolutionary operation on his left arm 51 years ago today as his ulnar collateral ligament is replaced with a tendon from his right wrist.

The procedure is performed by Dr. Frank Jobe and will forever be known as “Tommy John Surgery.”

The 31-year-old John, then with the Los Angeles Dodgers and already in his 12th year in the majors, then misses the 1975 season and returns in 1976 to the Dodgers.

John pitches another 14 seasons in the majors, picking up 164 of his 288 career victories after the surgery.

“When they operated on my arm, I asked them to put in a (Sandy) Koufax fastball,” John says.

Brent Strom

“They did, but it turned out to be Mrs. Koufax.”

The second such surgery is performed in the spring of 1978 on pitcher Brent Strom shortly after his release from the San Diego Padres.

Strom, 29 at the time of his surgery, misses the entire 1978 season before making his comeback in the minors during the 1979 season.

Strom has sporadic success over three seasons in the minors over the next three seasons for the Houston Astros and Dodgers before retiring and becoming one of the game’s most respected pitching coaches over the last four-plus decades.

“When you win 288 games in the major leagues and it works, it’s called ‘Tommy John Surgery,’ ” Strom later says. “When you win 22 games in the majors and it doesn’t work, then it’s called ‘Brent Strom Surgery.’ ”

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