Sports History On This Day: June 7

June 7, 1980 – Tommy John was a fantastic pitcher in his day. Many associate his name only with the surgery that repaired his injured arm, but they forget the talented career and brave comeback he had. Back on this early day in June 1980, John won his 200th game when he pulled himself out of a funk and tossed a 2-hit gem against the Seattle Mariners.

The performance helped lead John and his New York Yankees teammates to a 3-0 victory to hold a grip on first place in the AL East.

It was about 5 years removed from a devastating injury that almost derailed John’s career as a pitcher. During a 1974 game as a member of the LA Dodgers, Tommy suffered a painful injury when attempting a sinking fastball against Hal Breeden of the Montreal Expos.

John had permanently damaged the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm; he tried to throw one more pitch before having manager Walt Alston pull him from the game. Dr. Frank Jobe, the Dodgers’ team physician monitored the situation and after days of not seeing improvement, Jobe, with John’s consent, tried a revolutionary procedure to correct the injury.

It was a success and John returned to the MLB about a year later to pitch for another 14 seasons after the repair. Tommy John’s career lasted 26 seasons total and he tallied over 288 wins.