Loma Linda Graduate Remembered at Dodger Stadium

Hundreds of family, friends and colleagues of the late Dr. Frank W. Jobe gathered at Dodger Stadium on Monday, April 7 for a celebration of the life of the Loma Linda University (LLU) School of Medicine alumnus who passed on March 6th of this year. He was 88. “Dr. Jobe is one of Loma Linda University's most recognized graduates,” said Roger Hadley, MD, dean of LLU School of Medicine. “At his memorial service he was recognized for his passion for innovation, research and personalized patient care. His surgeries extended the pitching career for many star hurlers in the major leagues." At the celebration, the large video screens that typically show game scores and replays instead projected images highlighting the life of Jobe. Photos of children, grandchildren, graduations, weddings, backyard gatherings, smiles, hugs and even some taken on the field with baseball greats were shared with guests as classic songs such as The Beatles’ “Let it Be” and Nat King Cole’s “What a Wonderful World” for attendees who had been effected by Jobe. Among the speakers at the event was Vin Scully, announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who reminisced of their 50-year friendship saying, “I got to love him." He went on to say, "we are so much richer for having known him.” Jobe earned his acclaim after he pioneered ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery, which is known today as “Tommy John” surgery, in 1974. “I was the guinea pig,” Tommy John said, joking, during his speech at the celebration. John was a pitcher for the LA Dodgers, and Jobe was an orthopaedic surgeon and team physician for the Dodgers for 40 years. Had Jobe not performed the surgery on John, or had it not been successful, his pitching career would have ended. Since the first “Tommy John” surgery in 1974, the procedure has become common practice for injured baseball pitchers at every level. Jobe said in an interview in 2013 that he was pretty sure “a pitcher on every major league team has probably had the procedure.” Jobe was honored during the Baseball Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown, New York in July of last year for his contributions to the sport Jobe's son, Frank Jobe, said of his father, “He was a gifted healer, pioneered research, creative and bright with a superior bedside manner.” In addition to serving as the team physician for the Dodgers, Jobe co-founded the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, and served as the orthopedic consultant for the PGA and Senior PGA Tours for 26 years. Jobe is survived by his wife, Beverly, four children and eight grandchildren.