When Frank Jobe joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1964, it wasn't big news. But over a 44-year career, his impact on the team — and all of baseball — proved incalculable.
An orthopedic surgeon, his first medical procedure as a consultant for the Dodgers involved removing a bone chip from the elbow of star pitcher Johnny Podres. It went well.
Jobe subsequently teamed up with one of his former teachers, Dr. Robert Kerlan, to launch an orthopedic clinic that specialized in the nascent field of sports medicine. Kerlan, the Dodgers' team physician, admired Jobe's attention to detail and thirst to learn and improve.
In 1968, Jobe (1925-2014) officially joined the Dodgers' medical staff. He spent the next four decades treating players' injuries with his genial manner and exacting expertise.
Build Relations With Clients Like Frank Jobe
Unassuming by nature, Jobe built easy rapport with patients. With his long, slender fingers, he performed delicate surgery with meticulous precision.
"He was one of the most elegant, beautiful surgeons I've ever seen," said Neal ElAttrache, a top orthopedic surgeon and Jobe protege who eventually succeeded his mentor as the Dodgers' team physician. "His handling of operating equipment was bold and precise. He could visualize in his mind in three dimensions where everything was anatomically (clear) — nerves, tendons, ligaments, muscles — before making an incision."
Some hotshot surgeons have huge egos. But Jobe's easygoing personality endeared him to colleagues.
"He was a true Southern gentleman," ElAttrache said. "In the surgeon's lounge, he'd say, 'Heard a good joke?' He'd take pleasure in others' company."
Find A Way Home
Raised on a small farm outside Greensboro, N.C., Jobe joined the U.S. Army after graduating high school. As a medical supplies clerk in the 101st Airborne Division, he helped treat combat casualties in the Netherlands.
Amid the German offensive in Belgium in December 1944, he was briefly captured. But he and a buddy escaped by jumping from a German vehicle, fleeing while dodging bullets and hiding until an American Army truck found them.
After the war, Jobe was awarded a Bronze Star and other honors. Modest by nature, he almost never talked about his World War II heroics. He kept his medals in a jar but never displayed them.
Jobe: Make Innovation A Constant
Baseball fans might recognize Jobe's name. That's because he wound up revolutionizing sports medicine — and saving the careers of thousands of professional athletes.
On Sept. 25, 1974, Jobe performed the first elbow ligament replacement procedure on Tommy John, a 31-year-old Dodgers pitcher. John, who didn't expect to pitch again after his injury, played 14 more seasons thanks to Jobe.
There have been 2,555 major league pitchers who have undergone what's now known as Tommy John surgery, according to baseball analyst Jon Roegele. Some stars have even had the surgery twice, such as Shohei Ohtani and Jacob deGrom.
Influence Your Field
Despite his towering influence in sports medicine, Jobe remained humble throughout his storied career. He encouraged other surgeons to keep innovating.
"He knew how important his work was," ElAttrache said. "But he always encouraged us to keep moving forward. His ego was not threatened by advancements" in the field.
When ElAttrache started training under Jobe in 1990, orthopedic surgery was about to undergo a sea change.
"The techniques for arthroscopic shoulder surgery were just beginning," he recalled. "Frank Jobe was not trained using the arthroscope. A lot of old-guard surgeons resisted this newer thing, the arthroscope, but Frank said to us, 'You need to figure out ways to use the arthroscope and do it better arthroscopically.'"
Jobe told ElAttrache and other young surgeons under his wing: "Not all change is progress. But you can't have progress without change."
"He was basically saying, 'Look, this is my example to you,'" ElAttrache said. Jobe's receptivity to innovation has left its mark on surgeons who keep building on each other's breakthroughs to harness the latest techniques and technologies to benefit patients.
Reflecting on Jobe's impact, ElAttrache cites a quote from the great UCLA coach John Wooden, "Good players may have great skills; but great players make those around them better."
Jobe: Prioritize Humility
ElAttrache marvels at Jobe's modesty. Jobe was famous for inventing Tommy John surgery by the time ElAttrache joined his clinic as a fellow in 1990.
"He was recognized all the time for his accomplishments," ElAttrache said. "You'd hear about these accomplishments from lots of other people. But never from him."
When people referred to the surgery as "the Frank Jobe procedure," as many did, Jobe would politely correct them. "It's called the Tommy John procedure," he'd say.
In 1983, Jobe performed the surgery for the first time on a Japanese player, 33-year-old pitcher Choji Murata. Thanks to the procedure, Murata pitched until he was 40.
"In Japan, it was said a comeback was impossible, but Dr. Jobe made the impossible possible," Murata told the Japan Times after learning of Jobe's passing in 2014. "He is the one who restored my energy to live."
Bring Humor To The Job
Jobe liked to display a cheeky wit. He enjoyed a good laugh and used humor to break the ice.
When a group of Japanese surgeons flew to Los Angeles to watch Jobe operate on a famous Japanese baseball player, Jobe kept a straight face as he told the interpreter, "Please let the surgeons know that in their honor for being here, I'll perform Tommy John surgery left-handed."
Assuming Jobe was right-handed, the surgeons gasped.
"As he made the first elegant incision with his left hand, they got the joke," ElAttrache said. "Everyone started laughing" as they realized he was left-handed.
Once Jobe's protege, ElAttrache has become famous in his own right. He has operated on A-list celebrities as well as star athletes like Shohei Ohtani, with contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
ElAttrache prepares diligently for every procedure just like Jobe did. His laser focus on prepping for each operation displaces any potential jitters, given the high stakes of the surgery.
"I got from Frank that I'm only nervous if I'm not prepared, and that never happens," he said. "I've already thought about the procedure — 'If it's this, I'll do that' — and narrowed down what can happen, before I've touched the skin of the patient."
Treasure Your Friends
Jobe's comforting bedside manner with a range of patients stems in part from his upbringing, says one of his four sons, Meredith.
"He didn't move into a house with indoor plumbing until he was eight or 10," said Meredith Jobe, 68, chief legal officer at Adventist Health. "After serving (in World War II), he went to reunions with a cross-section of people (from his unit). That experience helped ground him" in treating patients from every background with kindness and respect.
Despite his fame, Jobe remained grounded and gracious with colleagues. With a twinkle in his eyes, he'd chat with employees at his clinic and show interest in their lives.
"Late in his career, he had this air about him," Meredith said. "He was a magnet. I'd walk into his office and the staff just wanted to be around him."
While his father didn't talk much about his wartime experience, his son believes it shaped his character. After Frank died in 2014, Meredith found a folded British pound note in his dad's wallet.
"It was signed by his comrades from the 101st (Airborne Division)," Meredith said.
Frank Jobe's Keys:
- Pioneering orthopedic surgeon who invented Tommy John surgery, extending the careers of many professional athletes.
- Overcame: Growing up in the Depression and escaping from his German captors in World War II.
- Lesson: "Not all change is progress. But you can't have progress without change."
