Tommy John, namesake for a pioneering elbow surgery that saved his career, dead at 83

Summary by The Los Angeles Editorial Desk · Byline on the source page: Beth Harris | Associated Press, as published by LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) · August 16, 2026 · 1 min read

Photo: LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) · view original

John played for the Dodgers from 1972-74 and 1976-78. (Focus On Sport / ) Tommy John, who won 288 games during a 26-year big league career and became the first pitcher to successfully return following groundbreaking elbow surgery that later was named after him, has died. He was 83. H...

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Summary created by	The Los Angeles Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed
Byline on source page	Beth Harris \| Associated Press, as published by LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio)
Original story	Read at the source
Source published	Aug 16, 2026
AI assistance	Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text
Prepublication human review	No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples

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