September 25, 1974: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John undergoes surgery on his left elbow, his pitching elbow. The procedure is performed at Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, by Dr. Frank Jobe. It becomes known as "Tommy John Surgery" or "TJS."
This procedure is one where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, or with one from a deceased donor.
Jobe gave the operation 100-1 odds of being successful, but John had it anyway, as his other option was to start working at a friend's car dealership in his hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana.
Traditionally, a pitcher misses an entire season in rehabilitation from the surgery. Some come back from it well, some don't. Some end up needing a 2nd TJS. The fact that John, the 1st pitcher to undergo the procedure, came back so well from it gave other pitchers hope.
On the day of the surgery, the Dodgers lost to the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hank Aaron went 0-for-4 with a walk.
Would the Dodgers have won the 1974 World Series, against the Oakland Athletics, if John had been available? He likely would have started Game 3 instead of Al Downing, which the Dodgers lost, 3-2. (All 5 games, including Game 2 which the Dodgers won, ended with a 3-2 score.) Even if he had outpitched Catfish Hunter, he still would have had to start Game 6 and win again.
A year and a half later, on April 16, 1976, John returned to the mound. He didn’t pitch well, losing to the Braves, 3-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. But he pitched without pain.
He began his career with the Cleveland Indians, in 1963 and '64. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox, and pitched for them from 1965 to 1971. He was with the Dodgers from 1972 to 1978; then the New York Yankees from 1979 to 1982; the California Angels from 1982 to 1985; the Oakland Athletics late in the '85 season; and back with the Yankees from 1986 to 1989. He won Pennants with the Dodgers in '74, '77 and '78, and with the Yankees in '81, but was on the losing side of all 4 World Series. He also helped the Yankees make the postseason in '80, and the Angels in '82; and nearly did so with the White Sox in '67 and the Yankees in '86, '87 and '88.
Switching from his former blazing fastball to a sinker, TJ ended up winning more games after his surgery, 164, than he did before it, 124 -- 288 in total. He also made more All-Star Games after, 3, than before, 1.
He should be in the Hall of Fame, not just for historical significance, but on merit. Essentially, he had two good careers that added up to one great career.
Jobe served as a special medical adviser to the Dodgers until his death in 2014. As of September 25, 2022, John is still alive.
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September 25, 1974 was a Wednesday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at Shea Stadium, where they were groundsharing with the Mets while Yankee Stadium was being renovated. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Bill Lee, who may have hated the Yankees more than any other Red Sock, ever, began the bottom of the 10th inning by walking Sandy Alomar Sr. Fred Stanley bunted him over. Roy White singled, but Alomar couldn't score, but Elliott Maddox singled Alomar home. George "Doc" Medich went all 10 innings for the win.
* The New York Mets were swept in a doubleheader by the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2 and 6-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Ron Schueler outpitched Tom Seaver in the opener. Over the 2 games, Mike Schmidt went 1-for-8.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The day before, Baltimore native Al Kaline collected his 3,000th hit for the Tigers. He got his 3,001st on this night, but it wasn't enough. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4 with a walk. The Orioles scored 3 runs in the 9th, the winning run, Al Bumbry, scoring on Tommy Davis' single.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Veteran Frank Robinson was on the Indians' roster, but did not play. Rookie Robin Yount was on the Brewers' roster, but did not play.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 4-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.
* The Montreal Expos swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs, 7-1 and 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 13-12 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Yes, that's baseball, not football. The Pirates scored 3 runs in the top of the 11th inning, but the Cards scored 4 in the bottom half, the winning run coming on a sacrifice fly by Jim Dwyer, scoring Larry Herndon. Willie Stargell went 1-for-4 with 2 walks.
* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-0 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Andy Hassler (6 hits over 6 2/3rds innings) and Orlando Peña combined on a 7-hit shutout.
* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 1-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Bert Blyleven pitched a 4-hit shutout. Rod Carew went 2-for-3 with 2 walks. Harmon Killebrew and Reggie Jackson did not play.
* And the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers were not scheduled.
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