Legendary New York Yankees star Tommy John has died. He was 83.
“The New York Yankees mourn the passing of Tommy John, who was a bedrock of our rotation during his time in pinstripes and a longtime favorite of Yankees fans,” a Sunday, August 16, statement via the team’s official X account read. “While his incredible longevity and post-surgery achievements changed the fortunes and trajectory of countless athletes around the world, it also overshadowed his excellence as a pitcher, which included consecutive 20‑win seasons with the Yankees.”
The obituary continued, “We pause to remember the totality of his legacy — his competitiveness and skill, his penchant for conversation, his kind and gracious nature, and his stature as an athletic and medical pioneer. The Yankees extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
Tommy is survived by his wife, Cheryl John, and their children Tamara, Tommy III and Travis. (Tommy and Cheryl were also parents of son Taylor, who died in 2010 at the age of 28.)
Cheryl confirmed to The New York Times on Sunday that Tommy died after a private battle with bladder cancer.
Tommy, who never publicly disclosed his cancer diagnosis prior to his death, skipped the Yankee’s Old-Timers Day earlier this month amid his then-undisclosed health issue.
“I want to thank the Yankees organization and the Steinbrenner family for giving me this opportunity to say goodbye to everyone, along with all the friends and family who followed me throughout my 26-year career,” Tommy wrote in a statement shared via the Yankee’s social media pages on August 8. “Thanks to Dr. [Frank] Jobe, who saved my arm and made it possible for me to continue pitching.”
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Jobe, who died in 2014, performed the first ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction on Tommy in 1974, replacing his torn elbow ligament with a then-revolutionary tissue graft. The procedure restored joint stability, so Tommy could continue pitching.
“That surgery has since gone on to save the careers of countless pitches, including many of the very best in the game today,” he wrote at the time. “Thank you to all the fans who supported me and my teammates for 26 years. I will never forget you. The day I left for my first job as a pitcher, my father looked at me and said, ‘Good luck, Tommy. Just remember one thing: whether you make it big in the big leagues or you don’t, you’ll always just be Tommy John from Terre Haute, Indiana.”
Tommy concluded, “I’ve never forgotten those words. Thank you and God Bless.”
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