Tommy John is the popular name for Ulmar Collateral Ligament reconstructive surgery, an operation most commonly performed on the elbows of major league pitchers. Tommy John is also the name of a brand of men’s underwear that may or may not be popular but is heavily advertised.

But the real Tommy John was a major league pitcher. And a good one at that. He pitched for six different teams including the Dodgers and the Yankees and was a four-time all-star. John’s career spanned 26 seasons, from 1963 to 1989, a feat made all the more remarkable when you consider what he is most famous for: being the first person to have a surgery in 1974 that according to estimates has now been performed on more than one-third of major league pitchers.

He was, in the words of Todd Civin of Bleacher Report (May 31, 2018) “a fair-haired guy from Terre Haute, Indiana. A guy who nearly had his dream snatched from his very grip after 13 years playing the game he loved. A guy who opted to be the Guinea Pig for a revolutionary surgery that would save the careers of hundreds of his baseball brothers over the next thirty years.”

Following his lengthy career, John did what many former ballplayers do. He tried his hand at broadcasting and at coaching. He was manager of the now defunct Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League of Professional baseball for 2-½ years from 2007 to 2009. Under his tenure the team had a record of 159-176.

He also has done some motivational speaking. He is still listed on the web site of the All American Entertainment speakers bureau. He can be booked as a keynote speaker for a fee ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.

John had four children with his first wife Sally Simmons. The youngest of his children, Taylor, committed suicide in 2010 at the age of 28.

“John uses his celebrity and his ‘Let’s Do It’ Foundation to raise funds for and create awareness of a topic close to his heart, suicide prevention.

“As a child, Taylor acted in the Broadway play, ‘Les Miserables.’ He was an illusionist and singer who loved the arts.

“But he also had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and took several medications.

“Through the ‘Let’s Do It’ Foundation, John raises money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at its Chicago location, the city in which Taylor resided when he died.” (Sue Loughlin, AP, March 15, 2014)

One thing John has done throughout his adult life is play golf. A story in the Desert Sun (July 20, 2019) by Andrew I. John offered a glimpse of Tommy John’s lifestyle in the Palm Springs area where he makes his home.

“Three or four times a week, when the temperatures are manageable, he and girlfriend Cheryl Zeldin (now his wife) hit the links and together swing their way through nine holes. They’re usually done in about an hour and a half, and often return home as bighorn sheep from the surrounding mountains feed on the grassy 11th hole fairway in their backyard at the PGA West’s Arnold Palmer Private Course. At 76, his balance isn’t what it once was, and he’s had a couple of painful falls. Over the years, he’s endured procedures to his knees, hips and, of course, the left elbow that put his name in the dictionary and revolutionized the game of baseball.”

For a man whose fame is tied to a surgical procedure, John has in recent years experienced a number of health issues. He contracted a case of COVID that was life threatening.

“COVID had stricken John and his wife, Cheryl, said he could barely walk when they returned from Nashville to their La Quinta, Calif., home on December 12, 2020. 

“They took him to Eisenhower Health Center in La Quinta. 

“‘They sent him home the next day,’ Cheryl said.’He couldn’t stand up, he couldn’t go to the bathroom. Five times they sent him home.’

“John would be in and out of Eisenhower for five weeks. He is thankful it wasn’t five weeks and one day. 

“‘I had two huge blood clots in my upper and lower lobes of my lung,’ he said. 

“Finally, Cheryl texted Dr. Dan Oakes, an orthopedic surgeon friend who would send all the necessary information to Dr. Antreas Hindoyan at Keck Medical Center of USC. 

“‘And at 3:30 in the morning,’ Cheryl said, ‘Dr. Hindoyan said, ‘Get him out of that hospital! I have an ambulance downstairs, he’s going to die.’ So they transported him to Keck Medical. They had him in surgery at 6 and broke up two massive blood clots in his lung. 

“‘They saved his life.’”  (Steve Serby, New York Post, May 29, 2022)

Curiously John’s oldest son, Tommy John III, is a chiropractor who has made statements claiming that the coronavirus pandemic didn’t exist.

Just last month a story on the MLB app by Bill Ladson (March 22, 2024) reported on John’s latest health challenge, a bladder cancer diagnosis.

One thing John does not do in his spare time is watch baseball, which he now claims is “unrecognizable.” 

“Though he rarely watches any part of a game, he has strong opinIons of today’s ML.B. He doesn’t care much for the robot umpire introduced this summer in the minor leagues  ‘An umpire is a part of baseball,’ he says, and he scoffs at instant replay.

“Don’t get him started on bat flips. ‘They would‘ve (been) hit the next time up with the ball in their ear,’ he says.” (Palm Springs Desert Sun, July 20, 2019) 

One question that has always followed John is why he wasn’t elected to the Hall of Fame. He recorded more wins than any non-drug using pitcher (see Whatever Happened To? Roger Clemens) who is not already in the hall.

He told Damon Amendola of CBS Radio (May 17, 2024) “I should’ve been [in Cooperstown] years ago. For whatever reason — well, I know the reason… There was one player who was voting against me all the time and [helping get] in other players.” 

More recently he came up with the curious explanation that he was not voted into the hall because he voted for Donald Trump. Curious because John was on the ballot for Cooperstown between 1995 and 2009. Trump was first elected in 2016. Only Trump himself could follow that logic.

Oh, and one more thing. About the underwear.

“John and his rep would like readers to know that he has no relationship to Tommy John Underwear. John said he considered a lawsuit but abandoned it after attorneys he approached for representation wanted $250,000. People ask him about the underwear, he says, ‘all the time.’

“‘My girlfriend called the company and said she was representing me and that they should think about using me as a spokesperson,’ John said. ‘Their reply was they don’t have it in their budget.’” Graham Womack, Sporting News, Feb. 23, 2016)

(Note on sources: Newspaper articles that do not include links were accessed on newspapers.com)

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