Tommy John, born on May 22, 1943 in Terre Haute, Ind., proved to the baseball world that serious physical problems do not necessarily drown the spirit of a true competitor. 

Despite rough beginnings and setbacks along the way, John eventually became one of the most well-known and inspiring Major League Baseball pitchers of all time. John’s young age of only 20 years old at his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians on Sept. 6, 1963, caused him to struggle throughout his first two seasons as a pitcher. He went 0-2 for the Indians in 1963 and was 2-9 in 1964. After two years of disappointment, he was traded by the Indians to the Chicago White Sox. 

Over the course of the next seven seasons, John became a left handed control artist for the Chicago White Sox until his trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972. During his 1974 season, John permanently damaged the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm, and a miraculous revolutionary surgical operation wa...Read More